User:ImTheIP/List of BDS-related controversies

List of BDS-related controversies is a list of controversies relating to the BDS movement. BDS calls for boycotts of Israel until it fulfill what BDS describes as Israel's obligations under international law.

Nullification of BDS resolution
In December, 2014 UAW Local 2865, a local chapter of the United Auto Workers union representing over 14,000 workers at the University of California, adopted a resolution in support of BDS with 65 percent of the vote in favor. It became the first major US labor union to endorse BDS.

A year after the vote, the UAW International Executive Board (IEB) informed UAW Local 2865 that it had nullified the vote. The opposition to the BDS resolution came from a small pro-Israel group known as the Informed Grads, represented by the global law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. IEB said that the endorsement of the boycott would interfere with the "flow of commerce to and from earmarked companies." UAW 2865's BDS Caucus repudiated the IEB's argument, saying that the IEB cared more about the "flow of commerce" than solidarity with Palestinian labor unions. The IEB further alleged that the resolution was anti-Semitic; the BDS Caucus called the allegation "the same baseless accusations of anti-Semitism frequently attributed to anyone who is critical of Israel."

Matisyahu disinvite
The Spanish Rototom Sunsplash music festival disinvited the Jewish American rapper Matisyahu after he refused to sign a statement supporting a Palestinian state. Matisyahu said that it was "appalling and offensive" that he was singled out because he is "one publicly Jewish-American artist". After criticism from Spain's daily paper El País, the Spanish government, and Jewish organisations, the organisers apologised to Matisyahu and reinvited him, saying they "made a mistake, due to the boycott and the campaign of pressure, coercion and threats employed by the BDS País Valencià."

BDS País Valencià denied that Matisyahu was targeted because he is Jewish, writing that they tried to get him cancelled because of his views on Israel. In particular, they noted that he had played at a fundraiser for the IDF and at a conference for AIPAC and had defended Israel's boarding of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters. Mark LeVine commented that it would hardly have been surprising if a festival had canceled a Palestinian-American rapper who professed support for Hamas.

The Milan Chatterjee affair
In September, the campus group Diversity Campus reached out to the President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Milan Chatterjee, and requested $2,000 in funding for a town hall event to be held in November. Chatterjee agreed, but stipulated that the group would lose their funding if they associated with "Divest from Israel or any equivalent movement/organization," referring to groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) which advocates for boycotts of Israel. Chatterjee claimed that the GSA Cabinet had a "zero engagement policy" towards such groups, although no other cabinet members could recall such a policy. A week later, Chatterjee sent a link to a Doodle poll to the cabinet members, asking them to vote on a "neutrality clause" on speech related to "Israel-Palestine."

In October, SJP found out about the stipulation from the Diversity Campus. SJP felt it was unfairly singled out because of their political views. They assumed that, since Chatterjee referred to "policy," that the funding stipulation was explicitly approved of by the GSA Cabinet and blessed by the university.

In mid-November, civil rights organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal got involved. They sent a joint letter to the UCLA administration expressing concern over the stipulation and requested that it should be rescinded. Several Israel-aligned organizations including StandWithUs, the Zionist Organization of America, the Lawfare Project, and the American Center for Law and Justice sided with the GSA and Chatterjee.

The Discrimination Prevention Office at UCLA investigated the matter and concluded that Chatterjee had violated university policy which requires neutral point of view in allocating mandatory student fees. They also stated that the "policy violation had a negative effect on campus climate." Meanwhile, pro-BDS members of the GSA attempted to have Chatterjee impeached and removed from office.

The findings caused controversy and over 500 alumni signed a petition calling for UCLA to issue a public apology to Chatterjee. Prominent donors threatened to stop giving to the school. The American Jewish Committee gave Chatterjee an award for "standing up to anti-Semitism and the BDS movement." Chatterjee said that the university scapegoated him and he transferred to NYU to finish his degree.

Brian Eno disinvite
Composer and singer Brian Eno was disinvited to music festival in Düsseldorf, Germany due to his longtime support of BDS. The organizers of the festival said that they didn't want to invite anyone "who supports activities against the State of Israel".

Young Fathers disinvite
In 2018, the British hip-hop trio Young Fathers was disinvited from the German festival Ruhrtriennale because the group had "regrettably failed to distance itself from BDS." 75 artists and cultural figures wrote an open letter criticizing what they believed were "attempts to impose political conditions on artists supporting Palestinian human rights." The group was later reinvited by the festival but declined the invitation.

John Cheney-Lippold's recommendation letter
University of Michigan associate professor of American culture John Cheney-Lippold declined to write a recommendation letter for a student applying to study abroad in Israel, citing human rights concerns and his support for the BDS movement: "Abigail,

I am very sorry, but I only scanned your first email a couple weeks ago and missed out on a key detail:

As you may know, many university departments have pledged an academic boycott against Israel in support of Palestinians living in Palestine. This boycott includes writing letters of recommendation for students planning to study there.

I should have let you know earlier, and for that I apologize. But for reasons of these politics, I must rescind my offer to write your letter. Let me know if you need me to write other letters for you, as I'd be happy, John"

A Zionist group shared the email on social media. After critics called the letter to the student antisemitic, Cheney-Lippold said he supported BDS for human rights reasons and rejected antisemitism. Guidelines from PACBI say faculty "should not accept to write recommendations for students hoping to pursue studies in Israel". 58 civil rights, religious, and education advocacy organizations called on the university to sanction Cheney-Lippold.

The university disciplined Cheney-Lippold; he was put on probation, had his pay cut, and had his subsequent vacation days cancelled, and issued a statement that read in part: "Withholding letters of recommendation based on personal views does not meet our university’s expectations for supporting the academic aspirations of our students. Conduct that violates this expectation and harms students will not be tolerated and will be addressed with serious consequences. Such actions interfere with our students' opportunities, violate their academic freedom and betray our university's educational mission."

The university and Mark Schlissel were criticized for disciplining Cheney-Lippold, citing a breach of free speech, the right to boycott, and professorial independence.

Talib Kweli disinvite
In July, after the Open Source Festival in Düsseldorf disinvited the American rapper Talib Kweli for refusing to denounce the BDS movement, 103 artists, including Peter Gabriel, Naomi Klein and Boots Riley, signed an open letter condemning Germany's attempts to impose restrictions on artists who support Palestinian rights.

Revocation of prize to Kamila Shamsie


In 2019, the judges for the Nelly Sachs Prize stripped the writer Kamila Shamsie of the prize after the German website Ruhrbarone pointed out her long-standing public support for the BDS movement. The Dortmund City Council, the hosts of the award stated that "Shamsie's political positioning to actively participate in the cultural boycott as part of the BDS (Boycott Disinvestment Sanctions) campaign against the Israeli government is clearly in contradiction to the statutory objectives of the award and the spirit of the Nelly Sachs Prize"

In response to the withdrawal, Shamsie said "In the just-concluded Israeli elections, Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to annex up to one third of the West Bank, in contravention of international law and his political opponent Benny Gantz’s objection to this was that Netanyahu had stolen his idea; this closely followed the killing of two Palestinian teenagers by Israeli forces – which was condemned as ‘appalling’ by the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. In this political context, the jury has chosen to withdraw the award from me on the basis of my support for a non-violent campaign to bring pressure on the Israeli government."

The decision to rescind her prize sparked an outcry within literary circles. In an open letter in the London Review of Books more than 250 prestigious authors protested the decision.

Revocation of prize to Walid Raad
In 2019, the contemporary media artist Walid Raad won the German Aachen Art Prize but the prize was rescinded after he refused to denounce the BDS movement.

Resignation after tweet critical of anti-BDS resolution
In 2019, the director of Berlin's Jewish Museum, Peter Schäfer, tweeted a link to an article that criticized a resolution recently passed by the German parliament that condemned the BDS movement as anti-Semitic. Following criticism from the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Schäfer resigned.

Appointment of Ilana Feldman as interim dean


In 2015, Professor Ilana Feldman at George Washington University led a campaign to have the American Anthropological Association, which she is a member of, endorse an academic boycott of Israel. In 2020 she was appointed interim dean at the Elliott School of International Affairs, causing outrage among pro-Israel groups. The campus group GW for Israel launched a petition calling for the university to remove Feldman which gathered over 1,200 signatures.

Zionist organizations, including the Zionist Organization of America, the AMCHA Initiative, and Hillel International, warned about the negative consequences her appointment would have. Other organizations, including the pro-Palestinian Jewish Voice for Peace and Palestine Legal, and J Street U supported the university's decision. Provost Brian Blake defended the appointment of Feldman.

The School for Unlearning Zionism
In October 2020, a German university withdrew funding for a project called The School for Unlearning Zionism, initiated by a group of Jewish Israelis living in Berlin. The project included lectures by Israeli and Palestinian speakers as well as an art installation at the Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin. The funding was used by the project for paying its speakers a fee of 100 euro each. According to one spokesperson for the university, the funding was withdrawn due to the projects alleged support of BDS and the anti-BDS resolution Germany passed in 2019. According to one of the project's founders, it had nothing to do with BDS.

News

 * Ilana Feldman


 * Kamila Shamsie


 * Walid Raad


 * Peter Schäfer


 * Young Fathers


 * UAW Local 2865


 * The School for Unlearning Zionism


 * Rototom Sunsplash


 * The Milan Chatterjee affair


 * John Cheney-Lippold


 * Talib Kweli


 * Brian Eno