SUNY BDS, an insidious unauthorized campaign run by students, faculty, and staff members on the campuses of the State University of New York (SUNY) seeks to defame the world’s only Jewish state and discriminate against Jewish students and faculty.
The SUNY BDS campaign targets Jews and Israelis. It is inherently racist and virulently antisemitic. Supporters call for the termination of partnerships between SUNY institutions and Israeli universities and organizations, the end of opportunities for SUNY students to obtain jobs in the Israeli defense manufacturing industry, and the divestment of $250 million in SUNY-associated pension funds and endowments in the Israeli bond market.
In light of SUNY BDS’s flagrant use of the university name acronym, the State University of New York has sent a cease and desist letter to SUNY BDS, threatening legal action. This may be the reason that according to SUNY BDS’s website, “SUNY” now stands for “Stop Unbearable Neoliberal Yuppies.”
On February 27, the office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement: “To be clear, both Governor Hochul and the SUNY system do not endorse this group or their mission.” The letter also noted that Gov. Hochul has “repeatedly condemned all forms of antisemitism…”
In its official statement, SUNY BDS continuously charges Israel with perpetrating genocide against the Palestinian people. This is a lie.
Israel does all it can to prevent civilian casualties. In an interview published on February 20, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi stated, “We must be careful not to use force where it is not required, to distinguish between a terrorist and those who are not...” If Israel were truly committing genocide, why would the IDF issue evacuation orders and drop leaflets warning residents of impending airstrikes?
Instead, it is Hamas that places Palestinians in harm’s way, that embed their terrorist infrastructure in UN buildings, hospitals, and densely populated regions of the Gaza Strip.
SUNY BDS does not inform its prospective members about why exactly Israel is conducting this operation in the first place. It does not tell them that on October 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and raped, burned, and slaughtered both innocent civilians and security personnel. By the end of the massacre, 1,200 people were murdered. Soon after, Israel launched its mission to eliminate Hamas.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby denounced the claim that the Jewish State is committing genocide, saying, “Israel isn’t trying to wipe the Palestinian people off the map, Israel isn’t trying to wipe Gaza off the map. Israel is trying to defend itself against the genocidal terrorist threat.”
From the University at Albany to The Fashion Institute of Technology, anti-Israel activists are pushing SUNY BDS’s hateful agenda across all SUNY campuses. If SUNY BDS were to succeed in their mission and implement BDS policies on campus, it would create a strong wave of antisemitism.
Jew-hatred has permeated the halls and quads of America’s universities
IN A New York Post article published on March 5, Binghamton students shared their experiences with extreme anti-Israel and antisemitic behavior from fellow students.
One pro-Israel student activist reported that she had been on the receiving end of vile antisemitic comments. In another instance, an anti-Israel protester declared that “Israel is worse than Nazi Germany.” This comes on top of the regular calls for an intifada, a term synonymous with Palestinian-led violence and the murder of Israelis, heard regularly at anti-Israel protests.
My alma mater, Binghamton University, is no exception. While the premier public Ivy possesses a strong pro-Israel community, SUNY BDS is nevertheless working to establish a powerful presence there.
On March 26, A “Rally for Palestine’’ took place at Binghamton University Downtown Center. Participants called for SUNY BDS’s adoption across all 64 campuses. This rally further alarmed Binghamton’s Jewish students already living in a climate of rising hostility.
Since October 7, Jew-hatred has permeated the halls and quads of America’s universities. From Harvard University to the University of California Berkeley, extreme criticism of Israel has passed the realm of anti-Zionism and has become antisemitism.
The adoption of BDS in the SUNY system would further legitimize these open displays of hatred in our universities.
I call upon students, faculty, and administrators across the SUNY system to see the SUNY BDS campaign for what it is: incessant hate-mongering against Jews and Israelis that has no meaningful impact on improving the lives of Palestinians.
The writer is a CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) fellow and a senior at Binghamton University.