Wednesday, June 19, marks the beginning of a global conference at the International Consortium for Research on Anti-Semitism and Racism, hosted by the Pears Institute for the study of Anti-Semitism at Birkbeck College, University of London. The Pears Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism was initiated in November of 2010 under the guiding principle that the study of anti-Semitism is vital to understanding all forms of racism, prejudice, and xenophobia. The Institute focuses both on teaching as well as research in order to contribute to discussion and public policy design as it relates to the issues of anti-Semitism and more general racial intolerance. The conference itself is titled “Boycotts- Past and Present,” and will take a comprehensive look at the history of boycott movements and their efforts to weaken and delegitimize institutions, polities, and states. There will be a specific emphasis placed on the contemporary Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement directed at Israel, examined in the context of previous, similar ‘human rights’ struggles. The relevance of BDS in contemporary debates on anti-Semitism will also be addressed. The three day conference, which concludes on Friday June 21, features many notable speakers representing various academic disciplines. Members of the political science, sociology, and history communities will be present at this year’s conference, along with various legal scholars. This year, the Louis D. Brandeis Center’s very own President, Kenneth Marcus, is among one of the many impressive speakers. Other prominent speakers at this year’s conference include comparative historian Derek Penslar, professor of Israel studies at the University of Oxford, and David Feldman, Director of the Pears Institute.