McGill students have rejected a controversial Boycott, Divest and Sanction campaign against Israel.
In an online vote, 57 per cent (2,819) overturned the BDS motion adopted last Monday by the general assembly of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), while 43 per cent (2,119) supported it.
Of the 5,286 votes cast, 6.6 per cent were abstentions.
The turnout more than satisfied the 2,200 votes required for a quorum.
In a statement, McGill principal Suzanne Fortier said the university “continues to steadfastly oppose the BDS movement, of which this motion is a part.”
Fortier added the motion “flies in the face of the tolerance and respect we cherish as values fundamental to a university,” and is contrary to “academic freedom, equity, inclusiveness and the exchange of views and ideas in responsible, open discourse.”
Fortier had refrained from commenting before the online vote.
“Students respect our governance processes; we do not interfere with theirs, or their rights to put such motions within the context of their affairs,” she said.
AT the SSMU’s general assembly last Monday, students voted 512 to 347 in support of BDS.
The motion called on McGill to divest itself of all investments linked to Israeli military operations or illegal settlements.
It was the third time in 18 months that McGill students had introduced a vote on BDS.
Founded in 2005 by more than 170 Palestinian organizations, the BDS movement promotes sanctions against Israel to press for Palestinian self-determination, the return of Arab lands, equality for Palestinians Israelis and the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. It is inspired by the sanctions against South Africa’s apartheid regime in the 1980s.
Following last Monday’s vote, some students who opposed the motion said they were the targets of anti-Semitic slurs on social media.
B’nai Brith Canada charged that the BDS motion led to a rise in anti-Semitic events and called on the university to intervene.
However, the McGill BDS Action Network strongly condemned anti-Semitic comments.
“No student should feel unsafe because of their identity or political stance,” it said in a statement.
“Supporting our Jewish peers and standing up for Palestinians’ agency and safety are not mutually exclusive,” it added.
The same day the McGill student assembly approved the BDS motion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government overwhelmingly condemned the BDS movement.
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