Hi Guys, JSoc is campaigning against the BDS motion - for our reasons why please read below. If, like us, you too wish to oppose the motion, please follow these three simple steps! 1) Find three friends in King’s (house mates, halls mates, course mates, even mate’s mates if you’re a billy no mates) 2) Get them to vote AGAINST BDS at kclsu.org/studentvoice/sgm/. Please refer to our extensive post below for constructive arguments against the motion you can use. 3) LIKE, COMMENT on and most importantly SHARE this post! Proxy votes can be cast until 4pm TOMORROW and the vote is at 6pm on Tuesday so its really important that we vote and campaign NOW! Why We Oppose BDS Its important to say that in opposing the boycott, we are in no way trying to prove that Israel is perfect and that everything it does is fair. However, there are many reasons why the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions motion is controversial and is highly problematic, and because of this it would be amazing if you would all vote against the motion and encourage your friends to do so too! We’ve tried to explain some of the reasons below, but it’s such a complicated topic that it is impossible to say everything! I think it goes without saying that the most important outcome of any initiative in the Middle East is to procure a successful peace settlement, which allows a strong Palestinian state to be created alongside Israel and for Israel to have secure borders after over sixty years of political turbulence and trauma for peoples of all creeds involved. Unfortunately, BDS doesn’t support this or provide a framework for it. Instead of giving constructive advice for creating peace, it only really envisages punishing Israel for its past and current failings. Sadly, it really does a lot to alienate people from the Palestinian cause because of this. Thus, BDS actively polarises opinion as opposed to bringing people together, exacerbating tensions already existing on campus. Furthermore, it pushes Israelis (who may easily suffer economically and emotionally from such collective punishment) to vote for a right wing government that doesn’t prioritise Palestinian rights. It is thus self-defeating in purpose. So why would somebody who supports Palestinian rights and advocates for the end of persecution support something which could feasibly backlash on Palestinians themselves? An answer may be that at the heart of BDS, the destruction and dismantling of Israel is the primary goal. Instead of envisaging two peoples living along side each other and each having self-determination, BDS promotes the idea that instead of learning from history, one people should have complete political rights over the other. Within this, there is no room for compromise: either Israelis have unlimited privilege and rights, or Palestinians have unlimited privileges and rights. What BDS misses – and what I hope you already see - is that Israel and Palestine are pre-partition societies. The two-state solution is going nowhere, and indulging the idea that it can be overturned is destructive and counter-productive to all. On that note, the BDS repeatedly questions the right of Israel to even exist, by accusing it of being a solely colonial project of racist proportions. However, questioning the right of Israel to exist IS anti-Semitic. Included in the working definition of anti-Semitism (as referred to by the EU, UN and so on) is, Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour. To clarify, we are not accusing the proposers of the motion of being anti-Semitic, but because it questions the right of the Jewish people to self-determination. As the Jewish society, we are compelled to oppose a motion which aligns itself with such a view. I hope you agree that questioning Israels right to exist is not fair. As supporters of Israel, and of a future Palestinian state, we would never question the right of Palestinians to have their own state - and would endeavour to disassociate ourselves from any individuals that did so. Likewise, I think disassociating ourselves from BDS for the very same reason is a completely valid request. Even the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has rejected a wholesale boycott of Israel. We can’t stress enough that voting for BDS is not a vote for human rights. Rather, its a vote for intolerance, and for a political view that is not properly thought out. And crucially, not supporting BDS does not mean that you can’t support Palestinian rights and self-determination, or criticise Israeli policies you object to. However, voting NO to BDS at King’s does mean that you are willing to get to grips with the conflict in a way that isnt black or white, and doesnt force you to align with those who may hold extremist and intolerant views. Voting NO is a vote for encouraging debate, not stifling it. Voting NO is for anybody who truly wants to see a fair and peaceful settlement in the region and a tangible future for Israel AND Palestine - not either/or. You can vote online until 6pm on Monday, or you can attend the debate and vote on Tuesday at 6pm at the Edmond J. Safra Hall. This is a really important motion, and may have a huge impact on the way student politics progresses at King’s, so please do use your vote wisely! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask Hannah Brady and Darren Wayne Cohen, or JSoc Presidents Josh Lew and Adam Wolinsky. We are happy to discuss the issue at length if you so wish! Many thanks to Hannah Brady for compiling the above! https://facebook/events/433199173450134/?fref=ts
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 14:49:07 +0000
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