I think the issue is less with Joe's sentimentality, than with the sort of work that is being done around solidarity takes on so many forms. There is a lot of educational work that is happening that we could discuss, but I'll focus on BDS for the sake of this discussion.
BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions) tends to operate in very concrete and focused terms. I'll talk about the campus level because that's where I'm at. The idea behind the campaign is that you look for investments that the university is making in companies that actively support the occupation, and organize to get them to take that money out. This could be Caterpillar for selling the bulldozers that destroy housing or Motorolla. It also could be products produced in the settlements.
You can see that there are two things happening here. There is an attempt to negatively impact Israel's economic situation... making the occupation cost, so to speak. But the other thing the action does is that it exposes the complicity of the United States in the occupation itself, and does so in a more concrete manner than budget lines does. It returns it to the question of everyday life.
As a side note, I think that SA's depiction of Palestinian political life misses out on the shifts in the thought that have occurred because of the failure of the so called peace plan, particularly amongst young Palestinians. The pragmatist/absolutist split is simply too static to describe phenomena such as the shifts in the DFLP for instance, who went from a strong military position to a strong two state position in a very short period of time, or the skepticism that Edward Said showed towards the possibility of two state in his later writings.
robert wood
> Solidarity is not a sentiment.
>
> My post said nothing about first, second, third, etc. It poses
> thequestion of how solidarityis to be made meaningful. Quite frankly,
> from reading your posts the main impression I get of your purpose is to
> build your ego: "I love Palestinians more than you do." I'm accusing you
> of beingore interested in demonstratingyour own political purity than in
> actually contributing to Palestinian liberation. Who is to impose the
> sanctions? What kind of political power is necessary to make the call
> for sanctions meaningful? Building strength and defining goals can b e
> separated only in the seminar room or e-mail list.