A student should never have to feel afraid on their college campus. Someone should not be subjected to hate, violence, and calls to boycott one’s home. Sadly, these are all too common experiences for Jewish students and Israeli students. Anti-Semitism is on the rise and has been especially growing within universities.
This isn’t something simply growing within student groups, but something even many university administrations are guilty of promulgating. Classes regarding Israel are frequently taught with a firm anti-Israeli bias, anti-Israeli speakers are invited to speak, and even some have gone as far to claim divestment from the Jewish state. On the student level, the BDS movement is the main voice working to oppose Israel, as well as being a platform for anti-Semitic sentiment to prosper. Groups such as the Students for Justice in Palestine, frequently go about erecting “apartheid walls” and calling for the boycott of fellow student’s homelands. While BDS movements claim they are simply anti-Zionist, one can not dispute the countless instances of vandalism, harassment, and offensive propaganda committed against Jews on campuses all over the country.
As a passionate Zionist, this trend was something I refused to let happen on my campus. I refused to let my student government be on the wrong side of the truth, as so many others had. I refused to let prospective Jewish or Israeli students not come to the University of Arkansas because their student governments passed pro-BDS resolutions. I along with co-authors Drake Moudy and Jesse Kloss authored Resolution 19 calling for a commitment to increase the inclusion of Jewish and Israeli students, as well as condemning and labeling the BDS movement as anti-Semitic. Passing the resolution was not an easy or straightforward process. Our initial presentation on the Senate floor resulted in a lot of pushback and criticism. Senators felt the resolution was too political, or potentially limited freedom of expression for students who may support BDS. We worked closely with every senator who outwardly opposed the resolution, and eventually came to an acceptable compromise. The resolution ended up gathering enough support to pass with a vote count of 40-2, and the majority of senators in opposition ended up sponsoring.
I am so proud of my student government and the people who supported me in this endeavor. I hope other student governments across the country follow suit, and actively work to pass similar resolutions. Hopefully, we will see anti-Semitism decline, and the passing of resolutions like this are some of the most tangible ways to aid in that. This task won’t be easy and will be met with formidable opposition, but as the Jewish people and Israel know we will ultimately prevail.
Noah Bradshaw is a rising Junior at the University of Arkansas who is studying Political Science, and plans to attend law school post graduation and study international law. This article was written for SPME.
