The Continuing Fight Against BDS

This week, students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) defeated a BDS measure by a margin of over 1,400 votes. The final tally saw 3,133 students vote against the BDS measure, with only 1,700 in favor. The vote was part of a referendum pushed by anti-Israeli groups on UIUC’s campus. The same attempt at passing a BDS resolution was made on UIUC’s campus in 2017, and was also defeated by over 1000 votes. Elan Karoll, the co-president of the Illini Public Affairs Committee, stated to the Jerusalem Post that the win “reaffirms that the University of Illinois is a pro-Israel campus and a place welcoming to Jewish and Israeli students.” StandWithUS, an international, non-profit Israel education organization, congratulated the students on their victory. Liora Bachrach, the Midwest Campus Coordinator for StandWithUs, praised the students of UIUC for their ability to see “through the propaganda,” as well as for realizing that “tearing down Israelis is not the same as supporting Palestinians or upholding human rights.”

This victory comes amid a flurry of similar resolutions, with some having decidedly less satisfying results. A recent BDS student referendum narrowly passed at the University of Minnesota (UMN), with 3392 students in favor and 3175 against. The referendum asked whether the Board of Regents should divest from companies that are “1) complicit in Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights, 2) maintaining and establishing private prisons and immigrant detention centers, or 3) violating Indigenous sovereignty?” President of the University of Minnesota, Eric W. Kaler released a statement expressing his opposition to the referendums ties to the BDS movement. Kaler cautioned that “[we] should be extraordinarily wary about such boycotts, given our core values of academic freedom, our commitment to the free exchange of ideas…and concerns that we may be unfairly singling out one government and the citizens of the country in question. “ Kaler went out to state that “[my] concerns are heightened by the fact that the…BDS movement does not seem to distinguish between opposition to the policies of the government of Israel and opposition to the existence of Israel.” The resolution, originally proposed by members of Students for Justice in Palestine, is non-binding, but serves to demonstrate the continued need for action against the harmful BDS movement on US campuses.

Some universities, however, have passed decidedly positive resolutions in the past weeks as well, including a pro-Israel resolution passed at the University of Texas A&M. At A&M, the Student Senate approved a decision to oppose anti-Israel boycotts and all forms of anti-Semitism. The resolution passed by a wide margin of 38 in favor, 6 against, and 8 abstentions on March 8th. The bill passed by the Student Senate cited the State Department definition of anti-Semitism and argued that “the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement is anti-Semitic in its effect, if not in its intent…Texas A&M University does not support anti-Semitic organizations.” Texas A&M student Jacob Powell, who introduced the initial bill, argued that, “As seniors in high school start to make decisions on what college to come to…they will see us as a University that is not just reactive, but proactive in stopping anti-Semitism and BDS having a presence on campus.”

This flurry of activity in regards to BDS and support for Israel on U.S. campuses shows the continued need for awareness and action in this fight. The support for boycotts on U.S. campuses, as well as attempts to convince campuses and their administrations to divest from Israel, will not slow down without continuous measures to curb this form of anti-Semitic bigotry.