Danon empowers students in bid to stop BDS

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon mobilized students this week for their campus battles against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

On Monday, Danon hosted an international conference in New York to empower more than 1,500 attendees—students as well as diplomats, academics, legal professionals and activists—to become “ambassadors against BDS.” 

The Permanent Mission of Israel to the U.N. has decided that it “cannot ignore BDS anymore,” Danon said, explaining the motivation behind organizing the “Building Bridges, Not Boycotts” conference. While a report issued by Israel’s state comptroller this week said that Israeli Foreign Ministry projects intended to combat BDS “are lacking in their planning, management, and im-plementation, and are failing to achieve their designated goals,” the Danon-led U.N. Mission is trying its hand at the BDS fight.

The event brought experts from around the world to the international body to share their knowledge about legal issues, activism on campus, and the delegitimization of Israel.

“I believe it will empower the students [and] the activists … to fight and win. I think we can win [against] BDS, but we have to fight back,” Danon said.

It is important to give students “tools on how to fight and what to do on campus” and to help them understand that they are not alone when they choose to fight BDS, he continued. “The State of Israel is involved, as well as major Jewish organizations.”

The conference included a performance by Jewish reggae star Matisyahu, who experienced BDS firsthand in 2015 when a Spanish music festival initially decided to disinvite him in response to BDS pressure. The festival ultimately reinstated his performance.

Attendees will hear from panelists including Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress; Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, vice president of the Israeli Supreme Court; and Jay Sekulow, chief legal counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice.