BDS Campaign Fails, Once Again

Student leaders at Texas A&M University in College Station approved a resolution late Wednesday that condemns boycotts of Israel and commits to welcoming Jewish and Israeli peers.

The legislation was introduced during the Student Senate’s open session and adopted with a vote of 38 in favor, six against, and 12 abstentions.

“Israel has been and continues to be one of America’s strongest allies,” read the measure, which pointed to bilateral trade ties between the Jewish state and Texas that “faculty and students continue to benefit from.”

Acknowledging the uptick in antisemitic incidents recorded by the Anti-Defamation League in the US in 2017, the resolution came out strongly against the boycott, divestment, and sanctions [ BDS campaign ] against Israel, calling it “anti-Semitic in its effect, if not in its intent.”

After embracing “Jewish and Israeli students as a valued member of the Aggie family,” the legislation said the Student Senate would “not facilitate, promote, or participate in any activities that promote BDS or any other form of anti-Semitism.”

It also recommended that no campus group “support, contribute to, or receive contributions from BDS,” while expressing respect for the free speech rights of students.

BDS has frequently been accused of fostering a climate of antisemitism, particularly on college campuses. A 2016 study by Brandeis University found that the presence of an active branch of Students for Justice in Palestine — an anti-Zionist group that often spearheads BDS initiatives — is “one of the strongest predictors of perceiving a hostile climate toward Israel and Jews.” Likewise, a 2015 study by the watchdog group AMCHA Initiative found that activity related to BDS “is the strongest predictor of anti-Jewish hostility on campus.”

Jacob Powell, a freshman student senator from the College of Engineering who helped author the resolution, told The Algemeiner that he first learned about BDS in high school through his involvement in youth groups and Jewish summer camps.

“I wanted to make sure Texas A&M defended the nation and stood up for Israel as a proud ally,” he said, noting that the Student Senate previously approved measures expressing support for academic partnerships with Israel in 2015.

“I thought denouncing [BDS] would be a great way to build off of previous senate sessions in promoting Israel,” Powell explained, “as well as expose BDS as an antisemitic organization.”

Read More: Algemeiner