Edinburgh University students endorse BDS

The Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) has voted to endorse the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

Meeting on Thursday night, the Student Council passed the BDS motion by 249 votes to 153, with 22 abstentions.

According to student media, the motion mandates EUSA to “cut ties with an array of Israeli products, companies, and institutions in protest of the occupation of Palestine.”

The decision also requires EUSA “to adopt the main provisions of BDS and ally itself with the broader international campaign”, and to “eliminate from its venues any products made by companies with operations in the occupied territories.”

The motion further mandates EUSA to “give public support to other branches of the campaign, such as the academic boycott against Israeli higher learning institutions, and to put a public statement on its website announcing its support.” EUSA would “additionally be tasked with lobbying the University of Edinburgh itself to commit to the campaign.”

The BDS motion was proposed by the EUSA Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) liberation group and the Edinburgh branch of Students for Justice in Palestine.

Opposition to the motion came from the Jewish Society and Israel Engagement Society. The latter had claimed before the vote that the outlook was “quite promising”, but having lost in a democratic vote, the Society now intends to “fight to ensure that this policy is not implemented.”

Parts of the motion will be implemented immediately, while other elements will need final approval in a Trustee meeting on May 25.

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