TORONTO(March 31, 2017)– FSWC expresses its disappointment with a recent BC Supreme Court ruling allowingthe University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Alma Mater Society (AMS) to moveforward with a BDS referendum.

“A BDS referendum such as this isextremely divisive and does not take into consideration the potential effectson pro-Israel students at the university,” says Avi Benlolo, President and CEOof FSWC.

The referendum – which will ask studentswhether or not they support AMS taking action in favour of the BDS movementagainst Israel – is to take place next week.

Voting was originally postponed after LoganPresch, a student at UBC, had filed a petition requesting the Court to prohibitthe referendum from taking place, stating that it would create a toxicenvironment for students who are in support of Israel and is destructive of“open and respectful debate.”

A similar referendum failed to pass in 2015after not meeting the quorum. In the petition Presch referred to the lastreferendum, noting how students who opposed it experienced hostile reactionsand antisemitism.

“TheAMS is meant to represent and take into consideration the needs of all studentsat the university,” says Benlolo. “Considering the acts of hostility andantisemitism that have previously occurred on UBC campus, it is disappointingto see the student government taking such action.”  

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Media Contacts

Avital Borisovsky 

Communications Associate   

416.864.9735 x 29 

aborisovsky@fswc.ca

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Atara Cadesky 

Communications Associate 

416.864.9735 x 30 

acadesky@fswc.ca

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centerfor Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a top Jewish human rights foundation inCanada's organized Jewish community.  It directly impacts over 100,000people each year and 500,000+ peripherally.  FSWC is committed tocountering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles oftolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy andeducational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of HopeBenefit, Tools for Tolerance and the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity.FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewishhuman rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two AcademyAwards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built inJerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Councilof Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca.