Alex Wisniewsi, student government president at Indiana University, vetoed a resolution that would have condemned a pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) speaker on campus.
The speaker was Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberty Union’s (ACLU) human rights program, who said on Wednesday that Palestinians are “second class citizens” in Israel, according to the Indiana Daily Student (IDS). He argued that this was because Palestinians villages aren’t being recognized in Israel.
Dakwar also objected that his critiques of Israel were rooted in anti-Semitism.
“I should not be labeled anti-Semitic just because I am defending my right to exist,” Dakwar said.
However, Rachel Aranyi, who sponsored the resolution, told IDS there was too much “complexity and nuance” in the issue for it to be presented in a personal opinion lecture format.
She also argued that Dakwar’s support of BDS “crosses the line into discrimination that targets a specific group and denies rights of a people to have self-determination – that’s when there’s issues.”
Ultimately, Wisniewsi decided to veto the resolution because he didn’t think the student government should “condemn academic discussions that promote free speech, encourage the voice of underrepresented students and allow for opportunities to learn about a different world view.”
Dakwar once tweeted in 2017, “Israeli leaders exploit horrible acts of anti-Semitism to encourage Jews to move to Israel” and added, “Anti-Zionism ≠ Anti-Semitism.” However, Jewish leaders such Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, have argued that “anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”
In 2015, the Indiana University’s student government passed a resolution stating, “The Indiana University Student Association recognizes that the Jewish people, like all peoples, have a collective right to self-determination, and considers attempts to undermine these rights, including the global BDS Movement against Israel, to be a form of bigotry.”
