BDS: The Current State of U.S. Campus Activism and the Academic Conscience
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 – 7:00-9:00 PM
New York University School of Law – Vanderbilt Hall
40 Washington Square South, Room 214
and
Thursday, September 19, 2013 – 12:30-2:00 PM
Fordham University School of Law
140 W. 62nd St. – Room 205
What does Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) mean, and how has the BDS movement on U.S. campuses and local communities affected public discourse?
Join civil rights attorneys Barbara Harvey and Rima Najjar Kapitan for a discussion reinforcing the legitimacy of non-violent BDS against the Israeli Occupation, including the cultural and academic boycott of Israel.
Barbara Harvey will review the history, rationale, and current landscape of the BDS movementon U.S. campuses and in communities, outlining evolving tactics, the impact of activists and their opponents, and the impact of BDS on student free speech.
Rima Kapitan will argue that the academic boycott is central to the movement’s success and, unlike Zionism, is consistent with American values that merit global promotion. She will respond to critics of the academic boycott, focusing in particular on the position of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and arguing that the principles of the academic boycott are consistent with the methods the AAUP has used and endorsed, both legally and normatively, in other contexts. Finally, she will argue that both the tactics and goals of the BDS movement should be geared towards opposing Zionism rather than towards merely ending the occupation.
Moderator: Abdeen Jabara, civil rights lawyer and former president and national vice-chairman of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
– free and open to the public –
Endorsed by: Jewish Voice for Peace-NYC, Adalah-NY, Center for Constitutional Rights, New Yorkers Against the Cornell-Technion Partnership (NYACT), NYU-Students for Justice in Palestine, Muslim Law Students Association of Fordham University
Sponsored by:
COMMITTEE FOR OPEN DISCUSSION OF ZIONISM in coordination with the National Lawyers Guild (NYU and Fordham University Student Chapters)
Hope someone will mention and clarify the USA’s law(s) against certain forms of boycott relating specifically to Israel. There was once an “Arab Boycott” of Israel and the USA’s legislation was meant to break the back of this particular boycott.
Of course, the USA is a strong believer in and practitioner of boycotts and sanctions, as relating to countries it wishes to punish — often called “enemies” but rarely called “victims” by USA spokespeople — such as Cuba and Iran and (a while ago) Iraq. But the USA discourages boycotts and sanctions done at the behest of any group or country other than itself.