The student union at Quebec’s largest anglophone university, Concordia University, has formally abandoned its support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, B’nai Brith Canada confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement noted that on April 6, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) posted a lengthy apology to the Jewish community over anti-Semitism, making reference to anti-Semitic graffiti on campus and promising corrective measures, mandatory anti-Semitism training for club executives, and “the inclusion of a Jewish perspective in CSU operations.”
However, the statement made no reference to the CSU’s adoption of BDS in 2014, which has fueled hostility toward Jewish students at Concordia since that time.
B’nai Brith then reached out to CSU representatives to commend their bold apology and urge them to fully implement it by abandoning BDS. The CSU replied that it had done so, and removed all mention of the BDS Movement from its website.
B’nai Brith noted that until now, the CSU had been the only Canadian student union outside of Ontario to adopt BDS. It had also been the only one known to have actually divested itself of holdings in Israeli companies. Its reversal is therefore a significant setback for BDS in Canada.
“The leadership of the Concordia Student Union should be commended for charting a brave and just new course,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada.
“The CSU’s formal move to reject BDS is a critical step in rebuilding trust with the Jewish community, and should be followed by all student unions that still endorse that anti-Semitic endeavor,” he added.
“We at B’nai Brith will continue our efforts, until not a single student union remains in support of BDS in this country,” concluded Mostyn.
Over the last several years, 11 resolutions in favor of boycotting Israel were approved in academic institutions across Canada. Such motions were passed by Toronto's Ryerson University, York University and Windsor University, among others.
On the other hand, similar proposals were rejected at Montreal‘s McGill University and at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
In 2016, the Canadian parliament approved by a large majority a draft resolution rejecting and condemning the BDS movement.