Revisiting Tommy Lapid

A zionist just wrote to the Just Peace list something about boycotting Israel having no effect on Israel. For some reason it reminded me of a bit of a here-today-gone-tomorrow Israeli politician called Tommy Lapid. He was a spontaneous sort of a chap who once or twice compared Israel to the nazis in spite of being an Israeli cabinet minister at the time. He also, and this is the thing I remembered, voiced his concern that the apartheid wall would bring a boycott down on Israel. I mean he was worried and he said so. See this on the BBC website:

Mr Lapid reportedly told a cabinet meeting that Israel should "have another look" at the route of the barrier, which at times cuts deep into the Palestinian territory and would affect hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

He warned that the upcoming hearings by the International Court of Justice at The Hague over the legality of the barrier could be the first step in Israel being treated like apartheid-era South Africa.

"There is a danger that we will be exposed to an international boycott as was the case before the fall of the regime in South Africa," Mr Lapid told the cabinet, according to his spokesman.

Mr Lapid, who is the leader of the secular Shinui Party, said Israel had brought this on itself for not sticking to the original route of the barrier along the Green Line.

Ok, still a nasty chap but I think his fear speaks volumes as to the worth of a boycott, any boycott, academia, goods, anything.