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SMALL BUSINESS

BDS Teach-In

S AT U R D AY

NOVEMBER 24, 2018

U-M departments sponsor one-sided event.

Photo by Ed Morykwas, River of Time Photography

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24

November 8 • 2018

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O

n Oct. 29, the University of
Michigan’s Center for Middle
Eastern and North African
Studies (CMENAS) hosted a public
teach-in about the Boycott Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The program was funded by
CMENAS Endowments, Institute
for the Humanities, Department of
Anthropology, Arab and Muslim
American Studies, Department of
American Culture, the International
Institute, Conflict and Peace Initiative,
Colonialism, Race and Sexualities
Initiative (through IRWG), Middle
Eastern Law Students Association
(MELSA), Department of Women
Studies and the College of Literature,
Science and Arts.
The lecture was not recorded and
CMENAS did not invite any experts
with opposing views.
Speakers included Palestinian-
American activist Huwaida Arraf,
After the BDS event, she tweeted she
hoped the event was “just the begin-
ning b/c just as UM divested from
apartheid South Africa, it should divest
from apartheid Israel.”
Another speaker was Israeli sociolo-
gist and activist Tom Pessah, who, the
Michigan Daily reported, explored the
difference between anti-Semitism and
what he calls ‘anti-Semitizing,’ a way
of equating criticism of Israel with the
hatred against Jews.
Another speaker was author
and political commentator Susan
Abulhawa, who, as reported by the
Michigan Daily, told attendees that 70
years ago, “Palestine was a thriving
pluralistic country that was changed
with the introduction of Zionism and
that Israel has stolen Palestine’s home,
lands, dignity, history and heritage.”
In an email to the JN, U-M spokes-
person Rick Fitzgerald maintains the
university is steadfast
in its policy of not
enacting any boycott of
academic institutions in
Israel.
“That does not mean,
however, the university
Rick Fitzgerald
can suppress the speech
or academic freedom of members of
our faculty who may organize events

like the one focused on the BDS move-
ment,” he wrote. “They are free to dis-
cuss this issue or any other issue. The
university does not require balance in
the consideration of ideas in events
organized by groups of faculty, staff or
students on campus, even when some
of the funding for those events comes
from university departments. We are
not aware of a great university that
does so by policy.”
Michigan Hillel
Executive Director Tilly
Shames said Hillel’s
role is to equip students
with the tools to ask
questions and bring up
additional information
Tilly Shames
and to put efforts into
its Israel programming to educate the
campus on the full diversity of Israel.
She said Hillel’s Israel Fellow, Orr
Viznitzer, attended the program with
about 10 students who asked critical
questions. They later debriefed with
Hillel staff.
“I know it is upsetting for students,
parents and alumni to see these events
happening on campus,” Shames said,
adding that students were disappointed
by this kind of “blatantly one-sided
presentation” supported through uni-
versity departments, but were glad they
could attend to ask challenging ques-
tions and bring another perspective.
A Michigan Daily online post stated,
that on Oct. 30, a group of students
from Direct Action for Palestine met
with U-M President Mark Schlissel
and presented him (and the regents)
with a list of demands, including
divestment of companies involved in
the occupation of Palestine, ending
relations with Israeli academic insti-
tutions, dropping sanctions against
two educators who refused to write
recommendation letters for study at
Israeli universities, written public apol-
ogies from Schlissel for his Sept. 20
statement opposing a boycott of Israeli
academic institutions and more.
In the Oct. 31 University Record,
Provost Martin Philbert reaffirmed
that “university leaders believe aca-
demic boycotts violate the principles
of academic freedom and freedom of
speech.” ■