Tunisia hosts “Boycott as a Strategy against Israeli Occupation and Apartheid: Present-day Realities and Aspirations” conference in resort town of Hammamet.
Organised by the Doha-based Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, the conference compared current movements to boycott Israel and past campaigns against apartheid in South Africa.
Malaysian researcher Mohammad Nazeri Ismail said the boycott movement is more popular on the public level than among official circles which believe it could harm Kuala Lumpur’s economic ties especially because some activists call for a boycott of US firms that have links with Tel Aviv.
He pointed out that many Malaysians wonder today about the effectiveness of boycotting Israel when Arab states have strong ties to it.