Barnard College in New York City recently voted in favor of a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions resolution against businesses with ties to Israel, 64 to 36 percent.
Those leading this movement describe themselves as “a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality.” They say BDS “upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.”
In response to the campus vote, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., stated, “the global BDS movement, despite deceptively presenting itself as both progressive and pro-peace, in reality advances neither of these principles. The tactics used by the BDS movement do not reflect progressive values, and often smack eerily and hypocritically of fascism. Its proponents advocate for a complete boycott of Israeli businesses and institutions, ironically seeking to deny Israelis and their commercial and academic partners the same rights and freedoms that BDS supporters often claim they themselves are denied. BDS leaders denounce and actively prevent partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Since 2003, there have been 121 BDS resolutions proposed — 57 have passed and 64 have failed. Despite the fact that many of these BDS resolutions fail, it succeeded at Barnard College where 33 percent of the student population is Jewish, making the outcome of this vote unprecedented.
With the student vote, it seems like there is overwhelming support at Barnard College for BDS, but Barnard College President Sian Leah Beilock says otherwise.
“Members of our community should be able to discuss and debate freely. Choosing a side (at the top of the school) therefore would be inconsistent with our mission,” stated Beilock. “There is clearly not consensus across the Barnard community on whether or how to address the issue.”
It is not surprising to see a response like this from a college president because while 57 BDS resolutions have passed, only three university systems as a whole have actually followed through on the resolutions.
This begs the question of “why should such campaigns continue?” With the rise of left-wing anti-Semitism on campus, the culture becomes more accepting of anti-Israel sentiments. When votes like this happen, it looks like a win for the anti-Israel crowd and only gives them greater momentum.
As people start speaking out ardently against it, others will realize that the whole BDS movement is built on a lie, and their only real mission is to smear the image of Israel. Until that happens, votes such as this one may become more common, which just shows the uninformed nature of so many people in today’s society.
While ceremonial votes are meaningless today, they are building an anti-Israel movement with a greater impact on tomorrow.
