BDS Movement
News about economic and academic attacks against the Jewish state
Beyond the usual pro-BDS and anti-Israel rhetoric, several campuses drew even more attention for their activities, events and choice of speakers.
The course of action regarding the film festival was labeled as “unequivocally anti-Semitic,” according to the Madrid-based rights group ACOM, which took the city council to court.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), who co-introduced a resolution last month condemning BDS, denounced the GOP amendment as a political tactic.
“One of the speakers slated to come, Omar Barghouti, has said that he supports the euthanasia of Zionism,” said sophomore Gabriel Dardik. “It makes me feel unsafe that this kind of person could come here.”
Pitzer’s only study-abroad program in Israel is at the University of Haifa, a school whose graduates harken from the Jewish, Christian, Arab, Druze, religious and secular communities.
How can Israel work to combat that? Danny Danon, Ambassador to the United Nations, says that “for us, technology is a key player in helping us transform relations. We will use more of our capabilities and know-how to build more bridges with more countries.”
Convicted terrorist and former prisoner Rasmea Odeh was scheduled to speak earlier this month at an event promoting the boycott of Israel at a community center in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) came down on Democrats for criticizing the anti-BDS component of the legislation, labeling their aversion as “their allergy to this particular legislation.”
Dermer’s comments come on the eve of an historic announcement whereby President Donald Trump will officially recognize Israeli sovereignty of the Golan Heights. “The people of Israel are very grateful to President Trump,” Dermer stated.
Brown student leader and SWU Emerson fellow Jesse Raviv said “as predicted, the Brown Divest vote polarized the student body, induced incidents of hate through online forums and created a hostile environment for pro-Israel students.”
“BDS is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It masquerades as a noble display of support for oppressed people while concealing its intentions to demonize the Jewish state,” junior Kyle Price wrote in “The Brown Daily Herald.”
“Academic boycotts violate the rights of students and faculty on U.S. campuses, and this precedent-setting vote is frightening,” AMCHA Initiative co-founder and director, Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, said in a statement.
