April 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…
read moreDisparate BDS events in February suggest that the movement is reorienting to changing political circumstances thanks to unprecedented pushback. This included US pressure that was key to the decision by the Irish parliament to postpone a vote on BDS legislation,…
read moreJanuary was shaped by the Israeli decision to ban high profile BDS activists and a series of embarrassing missteps by the BDS movement. With support apparently dropping on campus, the BDS movement’s antisemitic anger is exacerbating its clumsiness and prompting…
read moreThe fall semester ended with all eyes on President Trump’s official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This move prompted outcries from the BDS movement and usefully exposed its underlying antisemitism. At the same time, the BDS movement expanded efforts…
read moreThe BDS movement advanced nationally in November, with anti-Israel legislation supported by BDS organization introduced in the US Congress. The results of resolutions on campus, however, were mixed, suggesting that persistence and outside help are critical to the progress of…
read moreThe campus speech crisis continued in October, with more shout downs of pro-Israel and free speech advocates. The spread of this BDS tactic shows the movement is a leading indicator of intolerance. But like the concept of ‘intersectionality’ and ‘anti-fascist’…
read moreBDS on campus has swiftly aligned itself with ‘antifa’ protests against ‘white supremacy,’ accusing Israel and its supporters of being racists and fascists. This shift usefully reveals the opportunism of the BDS movement. At the same time, a report by…
read moreThe cooptation of radical trends by the BDS movement continued in August after the violent confrontation between neo-Nazi and ‘antifa’ communist protestors in Charlottesville. With both neo-Nazis and BDS supporters equating Zionism with ‘white supremacy,’ the fall semester seems likely…
read moreThe BDS movement has been stymied in the political arena by legislative initiatives. But through deliberate obfuscation new efforts to expand anti-boycott legislation have now run afoul of free speech concerns. BDS in the cultural and social spheres have less…
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