The calendar year closed with the BDS movement intensifying splits on campus, between faculty and administration and within student bodies. With support for BDS becoming equated with ‘free speech’ the contradictions within higher education have become apparent. In 2018 these…
read moreThe mid-term election saw several BDS supporters elected to the House of Representatives. While there have been other anti-Israel and antisemitic Members of Congress in the past, the progressive BDS caucus presents a serious challenge to the aging Democratic Party…
read moreIntroduction The ‘free speech’ crisis created by the BDS movement expanded in October, with additional university instructors refusing to write student recommendations for study in Israel. This, along with the controversial refusal of Israel to admit a student BDS activist,…
read moreThe fall semester began with the IHRA definition of antisemitism becoming the focal point of American and British controversies, and conspiratorial accusations of antisemitism crises to attack progressive allegedly engineered by Israel. BDS supporters have begun to eject pro-Israel supporters…
read moreThe academic year begins with BDS-linked Labour Party antisemitism crisis deepens as Democrats nominate anti-Israel candidates. The controversy over Labour’s refusal to adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism portends similar battles in US academia and politics.…
read moreBDS in July accelerated efforts to divide the American Jewish community from Israel and to intensify internal divisions in the latter. Two incidents where Birthright participants walked off their tours in protest over ‘not being told about the occupation’ illustrate…
read moreWith summer the focus of BDS has become the international arena. Israeli officials revealed that most global BDS organizations have connections to terrorism through individuals linked to groups such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.…
read moreThe academic year ended with sudden late pushes for BDS resolutions and associated protests. While there were notable wins for BDS in student government, the larger goal remains shifting campus opinion against Israel and intimidating Israel supporters into silence. These…
read moreApril was an extremely active month for BDS thanks to the confluence of Passover, ‘Apartheid Week,’ Israel Independence Day, and Israel’s 70th anniversary. Several BDS resolutions were approved in student governments, while others were proposed, many timed to coincide with…
read moreMarch saw a variety of BDS efforts on campus, some timed to coincide with ‘Apartheid Week’ and with the Easter-Passover season. At the same time, BDS-inspired antisemitism crises burst out in several institutions, namely the British Labour Party, the Women’s…
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