Isolating Israel does only harm

CATHY YOUNG got it exactly right in her June 5 op-ed, "Israel the unfair target of selective outrage," when she described boycotts of Israel as demonstrating a hypocritical and unacceptable double standard. However, she omitted another important reason that divestment initiatives or boycotts of Israel are, as she put it, ``simply wrong."

The goal of a majority of organizations and mainline Protestant denominations involved in divestment efforts is to bring peace to the Middle East and end the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians. However, boycotts and divestment will do nothing to advance that goal. In fact, they undermine it.

Isolating Israel will only strengthen the hand of those who seek its destruction. It empowers extremists by enabling them to draw strength and credibility from respectable institutions to advance a radical agenda.

If mainline Protestants, Canadian unionists, and British academics want to bring peace to the Middle East, they should add their voices to those who seek a negotiated end to the conflict.

Such a resolution must end terror and violence, affirm Israel's right to live in a secure, democratic, Jewish state, and recognize the Palestinians' right to self-determination and a state of their own.

STEVE GROSSMAN, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, Boston