Austrian students reject ‘anti-Semitic’ BDS

The Austrian National Union of Students has passed a motion against BDS, saying the movement against Israel is anti-Semitic.

Thought to be the first time a national student union has passed such a resolution, they announced their decision on Facebook. The statement read: “We are very happy to announce that the Austrian Students Union is the first national student union to officially pass a resolution denouncing BDS and also passing a version of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance – IHRA definition of antisemitism.

“The resolution states BDS to be an antisemitic campaign and calls not to give it any space or supporting funds.

“This has been a big step in the fight against antisemitism, and we are very happy that after our lobbying effort almost all factions have supported the motion.

“A special thanks to the GRAS Greens and Alternative Students and their continuing support in the fight against all antisemitism.”

In reply, the GRAS group wrote on its Facebook page how it was “pleased that the Austrian Students Union representatives voted with a phenomenal majority for our motion.”

The resolution passed nearly unanimously, with no opposing votes and only one abstention.