Abstract
This thesis studies the nature of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel on select US college campuses. Using case studies as a method of information collection and presentation, I determined the primary BDS supporting student group on each campus. I then analyzed events held by the groups in order to evaluate how the student group garners support for and advances the ideology of the BDS movement on the college campuses. Additionally, this thesis evaluates if BDS on US college campuses is contributing to the spread of a “new” form of antisemitism in the guise of anti-Zionism. The campuses studied are University of California, Los Angeles, University of Michigan, and Columbia University. The student groups examined are the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Students Allied for Freedom and Equality. Through lenses of alterity and liminality, this thesis examines the literature and activities of the aforementioned pro-BDS student groups on each campus for rhetoric, group definitions, justifications, and stances. This thesis offers an in depth examination into the language of the charters of the SJP groups as well as student reactions to events held on campus. When the language used and the details of their activities are measured against the U.S. State Department’s official definition of antisemitism, it becomes clear that there exists underpinnings, and in some cases outright examples, of antisemitism. This thesis ultimately concludes that BDS support on college campuses is indeed contributing to the evolution of a new antisemitic movement that implements a focus on the delegitimization of Israel as its primary vehicle. Additionally, this thesis theorizes that without better, and in some cases more, education of college students about the nature of what is and is not antisemitism, this troubling trend will continue to grow and gain popular support.