SPME BDS Monitor

BDS controversy snares universities over Federal funding as UN issues unprecedented report linking BDS with antisemitism. Women’s March leaders replaced as British Labour Party and Trade Union Council endorse Israel boycotts.

In September the focus of BDS remained fixed on the connection between academia and the political sphere. Prompted by a complaint over a BDS event, the Department of Education warned Duke University and the University of North Carolina over misuse…

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BDS spreads through community organizations and K-12

Mainstreaming antisemitism through BDS and antizionism progressed in June as academics defended attacking Israel. Pushing back against anti-Israel bias has serious costs but the impunity of higher education has been breached by legal counteractions. The defenses of BDS and racialized…

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Academic year ends with students and faculty policing Israel-related events. Antisemitism is normalized as BDS-connected academics and politicians make absurd claims regarding Jews and Israel.

The academic year ended with BDS-led policing of student and faculty connections to Israel, including overseas study, events, and clubs. At the same time the normalization of antisemitism by BDS connected politicians and academics expanded. Ludicrous claims regarding Jews, Israel…

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BDS on campus scores victories but university presidents refuse to boycott Israel. BDS-linked antisemitism crisis fractures Congress and Democratic Party as AIPAC becomes focal point.

As the spring semester progresses BDS campus BDS activities have ramped up sharply, albeit with mixed results, with faculty now taking leading roles against university administrations. The continuing antisemitism crisis in Congress, however, shows how the BDS movement has contributed…

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Israeli report shows BDS-terror connections as progressive Democratic support for BDS expands. Campus BDS results mixed as Amnesty International takes leading role against Israel.

In February an Israeli government report demonstrated that current and former members of terrorist groups including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine direct several Palestinian BDS organizations. The muted reception of the report suggests the BDS movement is…

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Faculty-administration splits over BDS and ‘free speech’ intensify as campuses are split over BDS resolution. Legal challenges to state anti-BDS laws increase as more US police forces drop Israeli training.

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…

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