Ottawa, ON — Today, the Canadian Federation of Students passed a resolution endorsing the Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at its annual general meeting.

In response, Hillels across Canada issued a statement condemning the decision:

“As centres for Jewish campus life across the country, we condemntoday’s decision by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) to endorse the hateful and antisemitic BDS movement.”

“This latest call for a boycott of Israel is anti-academic, fuelled by hatred, and is counterproductive to peace. The motion is rife with factual inaccuracies and historical distortions. In its obsessive campaign against exclusively one country and one community, the CFS has further marginalized the thousands of Jewish students whom it is tasked with representing.

“Time and time again, the CFS demonstrates that it is entirely out of touch with its students and has little regard for their needs. It is no surprise that so many universities have, or are in the process of, severing their ties with the organization.

“As Jewish Canadians and academics, we are disheartened by the amount of energy invested in disparaging Israelis, rather than creating spaces for those with competing narratives and historical experiences to come together to engage with complex issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Universities across Canada continue to reject boycotts of Israel and are instead deepening their ties with Israeli schools. In 2013, Canadian universities represented by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (now Universities Canada) signed an agreement with the Association of University Heads of Israel to facilitate, promote and support research collaboration and exchanges of faculty and students between both countries. To date, not a single university in North America has endorsed a boycott of Israel.

• Hillel BC
• Hillel Calgary
• Hillel Edmonton
• Hillel Winnipeg
• Hillel Ontario
• Hillel UofT
• Hillel Waterloo
• Hillel Laurier
• Hillel Ryerson
• Hillel York
• Western Hillel
• McMaster Hillel
• Guelph Hillel
• Queen's Hillel
• Hillel Ottawa
• Hillel Montreal 
• Hillel Atlantic

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA)
is the advocacy agent of the Jewish Federations of Canada

For more information please contact:

Adir Krafman
Senior Manager, Media Relations,
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA)
(416) 820-6871 | [email protected]

Background:

• Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) is a tactic that is part of a larger strategy to demonize and delegitimize Israel in every sphere of life and collectively punish all Israelis – including those who are staunch proponents of peace – by holding Israel solely responsible for the Arab-Israeli conflict. 
   
• Peace is not part of BDS, which is not concerned with resolving the conflict or fostering negotiations and reconciliation. Instead, the intent of the BDS tactic is to single out Israel and challenge its legitimacy and right to exist. Many BDS activists oppose the two-state solution and readily admit their desire to non-violently destroy the existing state of Israel.