What does Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) mean, and how has the BDS movement on U.S. campuses and local communities affected public discourse?
Join civil rights attorneys Barbara Harvey and Rima Najjar Kapitan for a discussion reinforcing the legitimacy of non-violent BDS against the Israeli Occupation, including the cultural and academic boycott of Israel.
Barbara Harvey will review the history, rationale, and current landscape of the BDS movement on U.S. campuses and in communities, outlining evolving tactics, the impact of activists and their opponents, and the impact of BDS on student free speech.
Rima Kapitan will argue that the academic boycott is central to the movement's success and, unlike Zionism, is consistent with American values that merit global promotion. She will respond to critics of the academic boycott, focusing in particular on the position of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and arguing that the principles of the academic boycott are consistent with the methods the AAUP has used and endorsed, both legally and normatively, in other contexts. Finally, she will argue that both the tactics and goals of the BDS movement should be geared towards opposing Zionism rather than towards merely ending the occupation.
Moderator: Abdeen Jabara, civil rights lawyer and former president and national vice-chairman of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Wednesday, September 18, 7 - 9 PM
New York University School of Law Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Room 214
and
Thursday, September 19, 12:30 - 2 PM
Fordham University School of Law, 140 W. 62nd St, Room 205
This event is free and open to the public. Endorsed by Jewish Voice for Peace-NYC, Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel, Center for Constitutional Rights, New Yorkers Against the Cornell-Technion Partnership (NYACT), NYU-Students for Justice in Palestine.
