"BDS is the main component of the “Durban strategy,” which was adopted by dozens of NGOs at the 2001 UN Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, and crystallized the strategy of delegitimizing Israel as “an apartheid regime” through international isolation. From this foundation, pro-Palestinian groups expanded their efforts to promote economic and cultural boycotts of Israel, particularly the call for boycott of Israeli academic institutions."
Who & then why, may have been a better question.
https://ngo-monitor.org/key-issues/bds/about/
BDS and the Durban Strategy
"BDS is the main component of the “Durban strategy,” which was adopted by dozens of NGOs at the 2001 UN Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, and crystallized the strategy of delegitimizing Israel as “an apartheid regime” through international isolation. From this foundation, pro-Palestinian groups expanded their efforts to promote economic and cultural boycotts of Israel, particularly the call for boycott of Israeli academic institutions."