CJP Deeply Concerned by Deceptive BDS Tactics by SJP Students at Tufts

On Sunday evening, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate passed a pro-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) resolution that identified Israel as “an apartheid regime” and called for the University to end investments in the Israeli “occupation.”

The vote, which was announced just two days earlier, was initiated by the anti-Israel group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Tufts Hillel and a coalition of campus Israel groups mobilized quickly to oppose the resolution, but given the extremely short notice, were ultimately unsuccessful.

The vote was intentionally scheduled for the Sunday evening before the Passover holiday, when many of the students who would oppose the resolution had already left campus to be with their families. Repeated requests on the part of Jewish students to table the resolution until next semester were denied. What resulted was a deliberate and ultimately successful effort to disenfranchise and silence student voices on campus. 

Providing minimal notice and scheduling the vote so close to a major Jewish holiday are classically deceptive tactics used by SJP nationwide aimed at minimizing opposition to their agenda. Such tactics limit freedom of speech, free expression, and open debate.

CJP calls on the members of the Tufts Community Union to explain their justification for refusing to reschedule this divisive vote for a time when the entire community's voices could be heard.  CJP also urges the Tufts administration to investigate the timing of this issue and ensure that student groups uphold the values of academic freedom and integrity.

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