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Israel start-up

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Forget 'Startup Nation,' Israel's brand identity isoccupationIsrael's efforts to market itself as a gay-friendly, villa-in-t he-jungle, startup nat ion cannot blot out the occupation, BDS or the crushing symbolic for ce of the EU guidelines .By Daniella Peled | Jul. 18, 2013 | 2:27 PM

2 TweetTweet 46

Palestinian protesters in front of Israeli soldiers during a weekly demonstra tion against Jewish settlements,in the West Bank v illage of Nabi Saleh, August 31 , 201 2. Photo by Reuters

Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions, BDS, is already working. Not todevastate Israels economy thats still a remote prospect but to dosomething just as effective: Destroy its global standing.

Israel wants its international brand to be that of the startup nation , buthowever hard it promotes the gay-friendly v illa-in-the-jungle clich, all itsachievements in the field of innovation are not enough to blot out theoccupation.

The European Union as an institution is not part of the BDS movement,far from it, but its announcement this week that agreements with Israelonly apply within the 1967 borders illustrates how crushing an essentially symbolic move can be.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett called it an economic terror attack ,missing the point, as did all the other usual suspects who jumped up anddown, predictably ref erencing the Holocaust and declaring that theEuropean Union could stuff their association agreements.

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COMMENTS

International winner to change that.

Israels economy is f lourishing, for now, but the same cant be said for itsprime brand. Britain has the royal family, Sweden has Ikea, and Israel hasthe occupation. So much for the Startup Nation.

Daniella Peled is editor of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting and has written widely f rom across the Middle East and Afghanistan.

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