A recently released study examining the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has found that the campaign is not only targeting Jewish students but also eroding free speech and academic freedom on U.S. college campuses.
The BDS “movement threatens not only Jewish students and scholars but also the political neutrality of higher education, creating an environment of academic politicization to the detriment of academic freedom, freedom of speech, and constructive civil discourse,” the study published by the New York-based National Association of Scholars (NAS) says.
The study, titled “The Company They Keep,” examined 3 leading universities: Columbia University, Ohio State University, and the University of California, Riverside.
The study, which examines the BDS from its inception in 2005 until the autumn of 2022, notes that the anti-Israel campaign is spreading “like wildfire in American colleges and universities,” adding that its “off-campus efforts are well-funded and growing in influence.”
The report — arguably one of the most comprehensive inquiries into BDS activism on U.S. campuses — is authored by Dr. Ian Oxnevad, a theology scholar and senior fellow at the NSA.
Here are some key findings of the reports (Read the full report here):
The study notes how BDS-supporting groups such as the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) use the language of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and “anti-colonialism” to win support among the leftists and liberal academics on campuses. According to its findings, the BDS camping has forged “a broad progressive coalition” to amplify its antisemitic and anti-Israel message. “The BDS movement is not a fringe campus element, but rather a part of the campus mainstream where it is present,” it concludes.
The document also highlights the political support this anti-Israel movement gets from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, spearheaded by squad ring-leaders such as Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.
The study also exposes the link between the BDS campaign and its Islamic and terrorist allies. It shows “how BDS activism unfolds on campus, and how the BDS movement is enabled and funded by organizations connected to terrorism and progressive philanthropy,” the NAS said in its press release.
An Israeli report published in 2019 found that Palestinian organizations behind the BDS movement often had deep ties to terrorist organizations. According to that report, over 30 active and “retired” terrorists were on the payrolls of BDS-linked organizations. Some prominent terrorists cited in the report include Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled, former Hamas jihadist operative Muhammad Sawalha, and convicted terrorist Shawan Jabarin. Many of these front organizations, masquerading as Palestinian charities, were receiving millions of dollars in aid from the U.S. and European governments, the report revealed.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY