Jewish students at Harvard form BDS-supporting group

Jewish undergraduate students at Harvard University have formed a new anti-Zionist organisation that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

The Harvard Jewish Coalition for Peace said in a Facebook post it was “founded in the idea that Jewish liberation is inextricably bound up with the liberation of all people”.

It added: “We build on a long history of Jewish anti-Zionism, which teaches us that Jewish safety or liberation will never come at the expense of other people’s lives and land.”

The group said it would focus on Palestinian solidarity work, fighting antisemitism and creating Jewish spaces and events outside Hillel. Its foundation was first mooted during Israel Apartheid Week last year.

Another group called Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has been active across several US university campuses in recent years.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says it “regularly demonises” Jewish students who identify as Zionists.

“SJP’s insistence that one cannot be a good Jew while still being a Zionist
is a blatant effort to constrain the Jewish identities of their fellow
students,” said the ADL.