sees no need for a consensus for an end goal beyond getting Israel to comply with international law.

"What is indisputable is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: total equality and no discrimination, whether in a one- or two-state solution. There was no consensus beyond ending apartheid [during] the boycott of South Africa; it's a distraction to say that we have to agree on our end goals before BDS can start."

Klein is strident in her assertion that progressives across the world have a responsibility to "move the centre" in relation to international political and economic strategy, especially in the wake of Obama's ascent to power in the US. "What's good about him is what's bad about him too," she remarks. "He's open to pressure, but the problem is that he's open to pressure from all sides. [When it comes to Israel] he's getting gloves-off pressure from the likes of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), whilst the left just applaud his ideas, which aren't even progressive."

Obama's stance on settlements is evidence of this, she says. All he is demanding is 'no new settlements', not 'no settlements'. As long as the left continue their unquestioning fawning over Obama and all the criticism comes from the right wing, she believes there is little chance of the President being forced to embrace the kind of progressive policies which would really effect change in the region. Moreover there is an increasing danger of Obama caving to the demands of hawks on the right.

Regarding the collective Israeli psyche, she sees no evidence of "Israel's sense of victimisation abating", despite the state being rewarded for its lawlessness. "Foreign trade has increased since the siege on Gaza, yet still Israel feels alienated and that a second Holocaust is about to happen."

Klein is a shrewd judge of the mood in Israel, and her goals of ending the state-sponsored racism and discrimination in the country and in the Occupied Territories are equally admirable.

However, it is arguable that just because the end is right, it doesn't necessarily follow that the means are as well. Some of those who believe that boycotting Israel isn't wrong in principle feel that it is ultimately a strategy that just won't work and other methods need to be used instead.

As one audience member cynically put it, "BDS probably feels like an effective tool if you're a Danish citizen getting angry watching the news and wanting to do something." However, Israel's powerful army of supporters - made up of both individuals and governments - will always emerge victorious in any battle (economic or otherwise) in which they are pitted against the BDS forces.

Likewise, preaching to the converted in Jaffa is infinitely easier than convincing the average Israeli that hitting him in the pocket is an act of 'solidarity' rather than an all-out attack on Israeli society as a whole.

Many agree with Klein's call for the political centre to be moved leftwards in the US, Europe and elsewhere, seeing such a shift as key to pushing forward the progressive agenda. But whether calling explicitly for a total boycott of Israel will help or hinder a sea-change in Israeli policy is far less clear-cut, at least in the eyes of those on the Israeli street.

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is published by Penguin in the UK, £10.99