April 7, 2016
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), has condemned the vote by the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) to support a motion endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. In addition to calling for an academic boycott of Israel, it calls on the university “to target products, companies and institutions that profit from or are implicated in, the violation of Palestinian rights, resist any action that gives political or economic support to violations of international law by the State of Israel and complicit companies and mandate sabbatical officers to work with the Black and Minority Ethnic liberation group, as well as Edinburgh University Students for Justice in Palestine to lobby and campaign for the university to also commit to BDS.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“We strongly condemn this simplistic and biased anti-Israel motion which once again displays the double standards Israel is repeatedly and unfairly subjected to. The malicious BDS campaign, which is particularly popular at universities, traffics in discrimination and does not contribute in any productive way to the promotion of sustainable peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. At heart the BDS movement is promoting a fervently vicious and relentless anti-Israel message that seeks to isolate and demonize Israel, and denies it’s the right to self-determination. We know that BDS activists are creating a toxic environment on campuses, stifling debate, inflaming tensions, and intimidating Jewish students. Instead of advancing the cause of peace or justice, the EUSA has embraced the tactics of demonisation and vilification that will further deepen divisions between Israelis and Palestinians.”
The Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677
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