We know that pro-Israel does not mean blindly supporting policies that are irrational, reckless, and counter-productive. Pro-Israel means supporting policies that are consistent with Israel's interests and promote its survival as a Jewish, democratic state.
You've heard the arguments of the religious and political right-wing, and so have we. They've had their say. Now, we'll have ours.
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BDS & Criticism of Israel
The BDS movement (boycott-divestment-sanctions) is part of an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic international campaign to delegitimize Israel and ultimately destroy it.
Boycott, sanctions, and divestment campaigns against Israel are misguided and counter-productive. They are misguided because they target the average, innocent Israeli citizen - who may well support peace and a two-state solution - rather than the Israeli government policies that are ostensibly the target of the campaigns. They are counterproductive because they provoke a "circle the wagons" response. Such a response is understandable, since much of the pressure for such campaigns comes from virulently anti-Israel sources that are often not interested in Israeli security concerns or Palestinian behavior. This in turn creates understandable worries about global anti-Semitism and the perception that the campaigns are not truly (or only) about Israeli policies, but rather reflect a deep-seated hatred for and rejection of Israel.
As a result, such campaigns have the opposite of the intended result: they cause many Israelis and supporters of Israel - people whose voices are vitally needed to oppose the policies that such campaigns target - to feel compelled to defend Israel, regardless of the policies in question.
A more constructive approach for those who oppose specific Israeli policies related to the occupation would be to shift the focus from Israel to the West Bank and the Golan Heights. It should be recalled that the West Bank has never been annexed by Israel and is not considered part of Israel, even by the Israeli government or Israeli courts. Even many American Jewish organizations whose mission is to support the sitting government of Israel distinguish in their activities and funding between Israel and the occupied territories. Likewise, while Israel has annexed the Golan Heights, it is clearly understood by all informed parties that the future of this area will necessarily be subject to Israel-Syria peace negotiations at some point in the future. Focusing activism on these areas will underscore the fact that activism is not anti-Israel, but rather is opposed to specific Israeli policies and practices, many of which are related to Israeli behavior in these geographic areas.