Student Council at Prominent German University Declares BDS Antisemitic
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by Algemeiner Staff
Leipzig University. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is to be considered antisemitic, students at one of Germany’s oldest and most prestigious universities determined earlier this month, the Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday.
A copy of a Leipzig University Student Council resolution obtained and translated by the Legal Insurrection blog said,
The basic aim of the BDS movement, the complete boycott of the State of Israel, fits seamlessly with the antisemitic campaigns of past centuries, and explicitly with that of the National Socialism; Nazi slogan ‘Don’t Buy From the Jews’ is once again being expressed here.
According to the Jerusalem Post report, the resolution was initiated after University of London Professor Lori Allen, the author of the book The Rise and Fall of Human Rights: Cynicism and Politics in Occupied Palestine, advocated for BDS during a book-related event held at Leipzig University in June. The event was said to be sponsored by the European Network in Universal and Global History and Leipzig University’s Center for Area Studies and Center for Global and European Studies. The Jerusalem Post report noted the event was also supported by the Stanford University Press and Germany’s Ministry for Education and Research.
The German civil society group “Alliance Against Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism” published a position paper to protest Allen’s statements, the report said. Organizations subsequently involved in promoting the student council resolution included the Young Socialists and Leipzig University’s Liberal student group.
The resolution said that calling Israel an “apartheid” state constitutes demonization of the Jewish state. Also, denying Israel’s rights to exist and defend itself are forms of delegitimization, the resolution found.
The student council’s move marks the latest case of pushback against BDS in the academic world. At the end of May, The Algemeiner reported on a flurry of similar anti-BDS actions in Italy, Canada, Scotland and New York.
