If you can’t beat ’em, cheat ’em.
That could be the motto for the BDS movement, which lost most, though not all, of the many anti-Israel divestment votes in April. Most dramatically, it tried to steal the vote at Cornell University and still came up short.
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which spearheads much of the BDS activity on numerous campuses, attempted to sneak a divestment measure through the Cornell student government, taking advantage of the Passover holiday, which pulled many Jewish students off campus.
SJP put forth a divestment motion less than 48 hours before a scheduled meeting just as Jewish students were starting to leave for Passover. The measure, however, was permanently tabled (ie rejected) by the Cornell Student Assembly. Had it not been noticed and tabled, the measure would have come to a formal vote a week later, during the Passover holiday.
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According to William Jacobson, a professor of law at Cornell and a blogger at Legal Insurrection, SJC tried to “pull a fast one” with the timing of the vote.
This is a crushing defeat for SJP — maybe one of the most decisive yet on any campus.
They tried to pull a fast one, and never even were able to present their Resolution.
This reflected widespread opposition not only to the substance, but also a resentment of students who see SJP trying to usurp campus dialogue.
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, which monitors BDS activity, reported that the Cornell move was an example of the movement’s “stealth and surprise tactics:”
The incident typifies the BDS strategy of secrecy and ambush, designed to circumvent public scrutiny of BDS proposals and to minimize the involvement of Jewish student by scheduling debates in conflict with the Jewish religious calendar. This latter strategy was also telegraphed by the SJP’s call for a ‘National Day of Action’ on behalf of BDS proposals during Passover. The Cornell incident also illustrates the growing tactic of declaring BDS defeats as anti-democratic, and to threaten protests and takeovers of facilities.
The “fast one” at Cornell is yet more evidence that the main objective of the BDS movement is to win “symbolic” victories against Israel at any cost. Even empty wins achieved with questionable morals help keep the psychological pressure up, making it look like the movement is growing.
