On Wednesday, the Associated Students of Western Washington University in Bellingham voted unanimously that it would not consider boycott and divestiture campaigns based upon national origin. According to a press release from Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs Northwest, “the 7-0 vote represents the first time ever that a North American university’s student government took pro-active legislative steps to protect students from discriminatory BDS campaigns, such as the ones that have targeted Israel at a number of campuses in recent years.”
“I’ve seen how divisive anti-Israel BDS campaigns have been on campuses across the country,” said Alysa Kipersztok, a WWU student and StandWithUs fellow, who brought the motion to the ASWWU. “Western is a warm, respectful, inclusive community.”
— Joel Magalnick