opinion
BY MITCHELL BARD
Why Does Anyone Care About
BDS Campaigns on American
College Campuses?
O ne reason is that it makes Jewish students
uncomfortable. Some say it creates a
hostile environment that makes them feel unsafe.

An increase in antisemitism on campus often
accompanies BDS resolutions.

As snowflakey as our kids have become, they
will get over their discomfort.

The more significant concern is that Israel’s
detractors will impact non-Jewish students and
turn them against Israel, adversely affecting U.S.

policy over time.

As I’ve argued repeatedly in columns, the
current situation is no worse than the cam-
pus climate of the past. It seems more serious
because of the constant media attention and
the almost total absence of any reporting on
the positive developments on campus (e.g., the
growth of Israel studies, exemplified by the pro-
gram at Berkeley, a longtime hot spot for Israel’s
detractors). Even when you look at the worst campuses, the
anti-Israel activists are typically a minute fraction of
the student body. To give a few examples from this
year, BDS resolutions adopted by student govern-
ments at Ohio State (the president did not sign it),
the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (killed
due to irregularities), the University of California,
Riverside and Louisiana State University received
14, 17, 11 and 36 votes, respectively.

The press also uncritically reports the lat-
est antisemitism statistics and fails to distinguish
between the nearly non-existent cases of physical
attacks on Jewish students and the majority of inci-
dents, which are vandalism. You may have heard,
for example, that antisemitic incidents increased on
campus by 27% last year, but you were not informed
that the number decreased 24% from its 2017 high.

Also, consider the 155 total incidents ADL reported
in 2021 were spread over an entire school year and
thousands of schools across 50 states.

Some will argue that we are seeing the impact
of campus anti-Israel activity in polls showing that
young adults (historically, Americans become
more pro-Israel as they get older), liberals and
Democrats have become more critical of Israel
and supportive of the Palestinians. It’s one thing
to express a negative opinion about Israel to a
pollster when asked a specific question, how-
ever, and another to act on that view. Supporters
of Israel are far more passionate than critics and
more likely to engage in political activity.

So far, the adverse poll results have not trans-
14 JULY 21, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
lated into policy. On the contrary, despite some
proposed bills that are anti-Israel, legislation that is
adopted at the federal and state levels continues to
be overwhelmingly pro-Israel — from the more than
$4 billion in federal aid to the anti-BDS laws, exec-
utive orders and resolutions adopted by 35 states.

We assume that hostility toward Israel, espe-
cially on elite college campuses, could lead to
future policy changes. This has not happened to
date. Interestingly, many of the most anti-Israel
politicians did not attend these schools.

Here are the alma maters of Israel’s most
virulent critics:
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.): Boston
University • Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.): North Dakota State
University • Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.): Boston University/
Boston University Metropolitan College
• Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.): Wayne State
University/Western Michigan University
Cooley Law School
• Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.): University of New
Haven • Cori Bush (D-Mo.): Harris-Stowe State
University for one year and a diploma in nurs-
ing from the Lutheran School of Nursing.

• Betty McCollum (D-Minn.): College of St.

Catherine • Marie Newman (D-Ill.): Marquette University/
University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.): University of
Georgia Not an Ivy Leaguer in the bunch. If Israel’s
detractors are so influential, shouldn’t we see
graduates from the most hostile campuses
adversely affecting U.S.-Israel relations? This is
not to say they don’t exist, maybe not in Congress,
but certainly, some can be found in the U.S. State
Department, the media and non-political areas of
life such as business.

Still, think about all the state legislatures and
governors who oppose BDS. Those are also folks
likely to become members of Congress.

Many states have robust ties with Israel that
have only grown in recent years. At least 35
states and the District of Columbia have signed
cooperative agreements with Israel. Check out
the economic benefits the states derive from
trade with Israel. New York exports to Israel led
the way, totaling nearly $3.6 billion in 2021. It’s
not just the big states like New York, California
($1.4 billion) and Texas ($1.1 billion) that benefit; so
do smaller ones like Oregon ($1.5 billion), Arizona
($413 million), Georgia ($280 million), Ohio ($238
million) and South Carolina ($113 million).

Israel’s detractors also haven’t had any serious
impact on American business. Yes, Ben & Jerry’s
got a lot of publicity for its boycott, but that didn’t
turn out too well for its parent company, Unilever,
which has now reversed the policy after states
divested from it. Ironic, isn’t it, that the only
divestment is not from Israeli companies or U.S.

companies doing business with Israel but from
companies that boycott Israel.

Meanwhile, every major technology company,
from Microsoft to Google to Meta to Apple, oper-
ates in Israel. Intel has huge microchip manufactur-
ing plants in Israel. Israeli and American defense
contractors have ongoing relations thanks to U.S.

military aid and various joint programs. American
companies are constantly acquiring innovative
Israeli startups like Waze and Mobileye.

Graduates of universities also go to work for
these companies. Yes, you have the case of a
handful of employees at Google and Amazon
protesting one project in Israel, but that did not
change those companies’ commitment to it.

Being Jews, we are naturally cynical, if not pes-
simistic. Even if we believe Mitchell, some of you
are thinking, the situation will get worse. Those
liberal Democrats trending against Israel in the
polls will come to power.

Well, maybe.

At the moment, having nothing to do with
Israel, “the Squad” and other progressives are
facing a backlash, and folks like James Carville
have warned Democrats their political futures are
endangered by fealty to the woke.

In the midterms, you will not see many candi-
dates running on an anti-Israel platform. Those
who do will be opposed by candidates who will
receive massive support from the pro-Israel com-
munity. Because of the demographics of their
districts, it may not be possible to knock off the
members of “The Squad,” but its numbers are not
likely to grow.

Today, by any measure — military, economic,
political — U.S.-Israel relations are as strong if not
more robust than they have ever been despite six
decades of anti-Israel campus activity.

Friends of Israel, take the win. JE
Mitchell Bard is a foreign-policy analyst and an
authority on U.S.-Israel relations who has written
and edited 22 books.