California Community College Students Vote Against Divestment from Israel

This week the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel suffered a defeat in California as the governing student body which represents over 2.1 million students in the California Community College System voted to reject a resolution to divest from companies doing business with the Jewish State.

On Sunday, May 3, the General Assembly of the Student Senate of California Community Colleges (GASSCCC) voted against divestment from Israel with a final tally of 25 in favor, 44 opposed, and six abstentions, according to the pro-Israel organization StandWithUs, which has worked tirelessly to combat the BDS movement on college campuses. They issued a statement following news of the defeat:

StandWithUS is grateful for the GASSCCC delegates’ courage in standing against the hateful, bigoted agenda of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. We praise the efforts of the student leaders who attended the General Assembly to make the moral case against BDS to their elected representatives.

As part of our overall mission to educate the public around the world, StandWithUs is committed to confronting BDS wherever it emerges. We will continue supporting students as they speak out against the bigotry of BDS, educate their communities about Israel, and advocate for a just and lasting peace.

A similar victory took place at Bowdoin College in Maine on May 6, where student leaders at the school’s Hillel had campaigned against a student-wide anti-Israel referendum. According to StandWithUs, the referendum, which ran from May 2nd-6th, was defeated with a vote of 228 in favor (14 percent), 1,144 opposed (71 percent) and 247 abstaining (15 percent). 1,619 students, or 85% of Bowdoin’s student body, voted on the issue.

Here are a list of recent antisemitic incidents that have taken place on California campuses:

UC Davis: ‘Not a Great Week to be a Jewish Student on Campus’
UCLA: Student Government Candidate Attacked for Being Jewish
Muslim Students Shout ‘Allahu Akbar‘ at Jews at UC Davis
Antisemitism, Again: UC Riverside Approves Anti-Israel Course
UC Students Vote to Divest From Israel — And America
Stanford Student Files Complaint After Jewish Faith Questioned
‘Grout Out the Jews‘: More Anti-Jewish Vandalism at UC Davis

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz

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