BDS in February focused on the IHRA definition of antisemitism and on the ‘International Criminal Court’s decision to investigate Israel for ‘war crimes.’ Growing opposition to the adoption of the IHRA definition has manifest particularly among students and faculty, putting…
read moreThe protests that wracked Washington at the beginning of January exposed how limits on free speech pioneered by the BDS movement, including deplatforming and cancellation, have spread into the political and cultural spheres. At the same time, the BDS movement’s…
read moreThe year 2020 ended with BDS pushed back to campus and progressive politics by Trump Administration policies and Middle East normalization agreements. A Biden Administration’s policies and staffing with respect to BDS, antisemitism, and Israel remain uncertain, but far left…
read moreThe November election produced a mixed result for the BDS movement. President Trump appears to have been defeated while the ‘Squad’ was strengthened but down ballot progressives were trounced, except in municipal elections. At the same time the Trump Administration…
read moreWith America on the verge of elections the stakes are high for the future of BDS. Even as Israel expands peace agreements with Arab states, anti-normalization led by the BDS movement is spreading to new areas. Empirical reality has become…
read moreSeptember’s normalization agreements between Israel and two Arab states have dramatically changed the global environment for BDS. With the Palestinian issue receding in importance among once fervent supporters, the BDS movement has responded by increasing its support for BLM and…
read moreWith the fall semester and campuses roiled by coronavirus restrictions and BLM activism, the BDS movement has focused on canceling Jews from student government and expanding the exclusion of Jews from progressive life. August also saw street protests that prominently…
read moreThe backdrop to BDS activities in July was the burgeoning anarchist and racialist protests across the US, which also featured anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations. Just as being pro-peace and pro-Israel were redefined by the BDS movement as ‘right wing,’ patriotism…
read moreJune was dominated by the sudden onset of global protests over the police killing of George Floyd, for which Israel was immediately blamed, and which escalated into broad institutional and social condemnation of ‘whiteness’ and ‘colonialism’ and the ‘canceling’ of…
read moreThe end of the academic year saw an unusual BDS event when a prominent supporter was appointed interim dean at George Washington University. The subsequent outcry saw the university endorse the decision, reject BDS, and then rule the supporter out…
read more
