Irish teachers say boycott move is a ‘back-handed compliment’

The academic boycott of Israel imposed by the Teachers Union of Ireland is a “backhanded compliment”, the union’s general secretary has claimed.

John MacGabhann said the TUI “expected more” of Israel than it did of other countries and felt a “sense of disappointment” in the actions of successive Israeli governments.

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UJS confident that NUS Israel boycott plan will fail

The Union of Jewish Students is confident that a proposal to implement anti-Israel policies at the National Union of Students will fail.

A motion seeking a boycott of Israel was due to be voted on at the NUS annual conference in Sheffield on Tuesday, but did not go ahead due to time constraints.

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Pendle council cancels West Bank twinning plans

A Lancashire council’s plans to twin with a West Bank town have collapsed after residents voiced overwhelming objections.

Pendle Borough Council had agreed to link up with Beit Lid in a show of solidarity against “Israeli attacks”.

Labour mayor Asjad Mahmood’s casting vote had given the twinning the go-ahead last December.

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Scottish council's Israel boycott ‘biased and offensive’

Supporters of Israel have challenged the legality of a boycott of the country imposed by a Scottish council.

Clackmannanshire Council has not said whether its decision to “resist all economic and political support for Israel” will result in the refusal to hire Israelis, or a ban on pro-Israel public demonstrations taking place in the area.

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Scottish council imposes boycott of 'apartheid Israel'

One of Scotland’s smallest councils has implemented a boycott of Israel after comparing the country to apartheid South Africa.

Clackmannanshire Council said it would resist all economic and political support for Israel in order to “end suffering in Palestine”.

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'Am Yisroel Chai' woman attacked during anti-Israel protest

An American woman was assaulted and chased from a park after she wrote “Am Yisrael Chai” on a pavement during an anti-Israel demonstration.

Hannah Larson was kicked, threatened and called a “f***ing whore” during the incident in Oakland, California.

The 22-year-old and a friend were targeted after writing the slogan in chalk, and drawing a derogatory reference to Hamas.

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BDS a total failure

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions crowd make a lot of noise. They march, they chant, they campaign. And, in a chilling echo of another time in history, they put much of their effort into a form of mob rule attacking specific Jewish businesses, trying to make it impossible for them to carry on trading.

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Offer an alternative to boycotts

Attention was back on the campus Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign last week when Oxford’s Student Union rejected a motion in support of a blanket BDS policy, a motion that would then have been taken to the National Union of Students conference in April.

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