Boycotting Israel – The insidious threat of the BDS movement

William A. Jacobson Cornell Israel BDS Boycott Speech Roc4Israel

On Tuesday night, January 27, 2015, I spoke at the Rochester (NY) Jewish Community Center on the topic of Boycotting Israel – The insidious threat of the BDS movement

I was invited to speak by Rochesterians for Israel (Roc4Israel), a very active multi-faith group. The official attendance count was 354 people, quite a crowd.

Before my speech, the organizers played the video of the Cornell student harassed and attacked by anti-Israel activists on campus, as well as a video of aggressive anti-Israel campus activities:

(Language Warning)

(BTW, that “Gandhi Quote” is fake.)

In my speech I put the aggressiveness of anti-Israel student groups in context.

I focused on the academic boycott movement pushed by faculty professional organizations, which deprives faculty, students and the greater academic community of academic freedom.

There also were some really good questions about what can be done, how we got here, and how to respond on campus.

I had a chance to talk with some crowd members one-on-one, including Legal Insurrection commenter Philly Guy.

Thanks to Roc4Israel for the invite. The group can serve as a model for how Christians and Jews can come together to promote and defend Israel in a positive way.

Here is my speech:

Tags: BDS, Media Appearance, William Jacobson Speech

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