The Power of BDS: Transforming the World, Two new campaigns to continue the transformation
Presented by United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR) and MFSA, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, an essential pillar of Palestinian freedom, has transformed the global understanding of the question of Palestine.
Since 2005, the BDS movement has built a global network with tens of millions of supporters for Palestinian rights. BDS has moved large corporations to end their complicity in Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people.
In a webinar recorded on April 15, UMKR and MFSA presented two new campaigns that we know will impact the global conversation about Palestine:
PURGE PALANTIR
Tech giant Palantir is building tools for mass surveillance to help governments track and target individuals. It is a behemoth that is vacuuming up our data to be used in everything from denial of health insurance claims to unjust deportations and lethal drone strikes. Palantir is used by militaries, police forces, banks, hospitals, and many other businesses.
Palantir openly supports Israel's genocide on Gaza and assists their military operations. In the United States, the company helps immigration authorities to target people for deportation and police departments to surveil our communities.
This campaign aims to stop this dangerous U.S. company from weaponizing our personal data and using it to oppress and destroy.
NO ROOM FOR GENOCIDE
Imagine taking a vacation in a territory under military occupation! And in an illegal colony in that territory! That is what Airbnb and Booking.com offer to their customers: rentals in the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
It's time to let these companies know this practice must stop. Everyone who travels can take the pledge to avoid using Airbnb and Booking.com whenever possible.
Imagine hosting someone who has been implicated in the Gaza genocide in your home! Those of us who have a rental can take the "Sanctuary of Peace" pledge, to not host war criminals and those who enable genocide.
This webinar also includes David Wildman, a United Methodist Church leader with decades of in-depth experience in BDS organizing, on the power of this transformational movement.
RELATED RESOURCES
PURGE PALANTIR CAMPAIGN
Website: https://afsc.org/purge-palantir
NYC Hospital system will drop Palantir:
https://afsc.org/newsroom/facing-public-outrage-nyc-hospital-ceo-announces-palantir-contract-will-not-be-renewed
NO ROOM FOR GENOCIDE CAMPAIGN
Website: https://bdsmovement.net/news/no-room-for-genocide
No Room for Genocide Toolkit: https://bdsmovement.net/sites/default/files/2025-08/No%20Room%20for%20Genocide%20toolkit-12.08.pdf
Two Pledges:
If you are a traveler, pledge to drop Booking.com & Airbnb from your travel plans.
https://actionnetwork.org/.../e70360edd4e2a336ac560838d6f...
If you are a hospitality host, pledge to make your B&B, hostel, or hotel a Sanctuary of Peace.
https://sanctuariesofpeace.org/
KAIROS PALESTINE II "A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide"
https://www.kairosresponse.org/kairos_palestine_2.html
Congregational Study Guide for KP2
https://www.kairosresponse.org/kp2guide.html
UMKR-MFSA webinar on KP2, with Munther Isaac, Rifat Kassis, and three UMC Bishops
https://www.mfsaweb.org/resources/faith-in-a-time-of-genocide
UMC RESOLUTIONS FOR BOYCOTT AND DIVESTMENT
"Opposition to Israeli Settlements in Palestinian Land" (2012, 2016, 2024)
https://www.kairosresponse.org/oppos_to_settlements_resol.html
Calls for worldwide boycott of products from Israeli settlements
"Exclude Government Debt of Countries Involved in Prolonged Occupations" (2024)
https://www.kairosresponse.org/gc2020_exclude_bonds_prolonged_occupations.html
Calls for divestment from Israeli government bonds, as well as Turkey and Morocco
BOYCOTTS UNITED METHODISTS HAVE JOINED
Chevron Boycott (current)
https://www.kairosresponse.org/chevronboycott.html
https://www.umcjustice.org/latest/take-action-boycott-chevron-corporation-8293
Pillsbury Boycott (successful, closed)
https://www.kairosresponse.org/boycott_pillsbury.html
SodaStream (successful, closed)
https://www.kairosresponse.org/sodastream_boycott.html
UMKR POLITICAL ADVOCACY
Stop Arming Israel
https://umkr.salsalabs.org/blockthebombs/index.html