Ironically, whilst we are in the midst of a calmer interlude by the standards of Israel’s engagements with its neighbours in the wake of Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the debate over Israel rages ever more furiously on college campuses across the globe. As the brave soldiers of the IDF defend Israel – the culmination of the...
Challenging the Narrative on West Bank Housing
Last November, I had the unique experience of attending an event titled “exploring the Israeli occupation”. The event was hosted at the University of the West of England, and invited a speaker from a Christian organisation called ‘Ecumenical Accomplishment Programme in Palestine and Israel’. The speaker, a man called Jamie...
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s New Offensive on British Jewish Students
At my own institution, there has been a continuous anti-Israel presence on campus this term. Jewish students returned to their campuses this autumn to an intellectual battlefield far more divisive than we’ve seen for some time. Just as Jewish and Zionist student leaders attended conferences and training across the world...
The Depths to Which BDS Will Go on Irish Campuses
After previously writing on Ireland’s downward spiral into the welcoming arms of the BDS movement, I regret to report that this slump is only gaining speed as the hour goes by. What has transpired in recent days has not been a shift in policy; rather, what has occurred has been a radicalization...
Reflection on Yves Engler’s Speech at Carleton
On November 29th, political activist and former vice president of Concordia University’s student union Yves Engler was invited by Carleton University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine to speak about his thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Canada’s relationship to it. I was fortunate enough to be able to...
Why Is BDS Bad Anyway? Lessons from Ohio State
Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government should be a place to better our campus for students and faculty as we work together to resolve issues that we face on campus. Ohio State is supposed to be a place for all to feel welcomed and to learn, not the place to be...
SGA Should Vote No on the Upcoming BDS Vote
On Oct. 29, over 20 student clubs and organizations came together to honor the lives of those who perished in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the deadliest anti-Semitic shooting in American history. Many were deeply touched by the efforts of both student government and the sponsoring clubs to stand alongside one another in...
An Unnecessary Divide: Confronting the J Street Challenge
While the Jewish community around the world, as displayed by the comments of the Anti-Defamation League, finds common ground over Airbnb’s recent decision to boycott Jewish homes in the West Bank, J Street is busy trying to undermine that consensus. J Street, self-described as “pro-Israel, pro-peace,” condoned Airbnb’s action by...
