A Jewish Student’s Call to Reject BDS

On March 3, 2016, it was announced that 125 faculty members at U of T endorsed the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) campaign. As a Jewish student on campus, I felt targeted by the overtly hostile messages and anti-Semitic rhetoric that accompany all BDS campaigns. In short, U of T has made it clear that Jewish students do not deserve their safe space on campus.

What is BDS? According to their central website, the BDS Movement is a global undertaking to end the “Israeli Apartheid” by boycotting the Jewish state. Through the boycott of Israeli products and companies, divestment from Israel’s economy, and the support of international sanctions on the Jewish state, BDS hopes to bring the plight of the Palestinian people to the foreground. But their methods are hostile and their ideology is flawed as they spread half-truths and blatant lies. I would like to publically counter the BDS movement for a few reasons.

First and foremost, BDS is discriminatory and hateful, as it solely targets Israel. Reminiscent of Nazi Germany, when Jewish stores were labelled with yellow stars and the Third Reich mandated a boycott of all Jewish businesses, BDS strives to do exactly the same thing with Israeli goods. In addition to businesses, this movement also calls for the boycott of Israeli academia, art, student clubs, and societies. This overt call to reject open dialogue with Israelis, Jewish, and non-Jewish alike is yet another reason why BDS campaigns are discriminatory and dangerous to Jews on campus. Finally, Omar Barghouti, the founder of the BDS movement, has openly called for armed resistance against Israelis, declaring that, “Jews are not a people.” A movement whose founder denies the Jewish right to self-determination is bigoted from its inception.

BDS is ineffective at spurring any sort of positive development for Palestinians. When the BDS movement targeted the Israeli company Soda Stream, located in the West Bank city of Ma’aleh Adumim, hundreds of Palestinian workers lost their jobs and their livelihoods. A simple search online will tell you that Soda Stream offered a safe workplace for people of all religions and ethnicities, with high wages and substantial benefits. Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians worked side by side at a company that only encouraged co-existence. Thanks to BDS, the Palestinian workers of this company have suffered immeasurable losses.

BDS has been roundly condemned by politicians of all stripes as hateful and harmful to any prospects for peace in the region. Since BDS widely champions a biased and imbalanced narrative that denies the State of Israel its right to protect its sovereignty and civilians, the Canadian government has publically condemned the movement in the House of Commons with a landslide vote of 229-51. This unusual display of bipartisanship in the fight against BDS only goes to show how hostile it really is. In the words of our own PM Justin Trudeau, an outspoken feminist and champion of liberal values, “The BDS movement, like Israeli Apartheid Week, has no place on Canadian campuses.”

In short, BDS has become a new form of anti-Semitism on campus. While activists claim that they are not anti-Semitic and that the BDS movement strives for social justice to end oppression, Jewish students understand that BDS has become the perfect platform through which to target the Jewish people without saying the word “Jew.” I therefore reject the BDS movement and its divisive tactics, and I affirm Israeli and Palestinian national aspirations. I am glad to engage in meaningful dialogue, and I understand that the issues are profoundly complex. However, complexity is an inherent part of the any university experience, and we should take pride in striving to engage with difficult subjects. It can’t be ignored that Israel and the Jewish people are inherently linked, and an attack on the State of Israel is an attack on all Jews. I proudly wear my Star of David necklace on campus and I will continue to defend my homeland.

Sarah Wapner is a first year student in University College, studying Political Science and Jewish Studies.