Demystifying BDS for Palestine: A teach-in at CUNY Graduate Center (3/7/2025)

Not an endorsement, just recording for posterity and accountability reasons. There is a break in the middle of this by the way.

"Demystifying BDS for Palestine
A teach-in at CUNY Graduate Center
Friday, March 7, 2025, 5-7pm eastern
Hybrid format; in-person event includes Iftar dinner break w/food provided

Speakers:
Nerdeen Kiswani (CUNY Law alumna and Within Our Lifetime co-founder)
Dylan Saba (Attorney with Palestine Legal)
Members of the DGSC ad-hoc boycott committee created by the five demands resolution

The Doctoral and Graduate Student Council (DGSC)–the student government at CUNY Graduate Center–adopted the "Five Demands for Palestine" resolution by a strong majority vote in October 2024. This resolution adopts the five demands of last April’s CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment and answers the call of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement by affirming that the DGSC “does not allow its resources or the student fees it manages to be used in connection with products or services that support or benefit from the US-backed Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Perhaps unique among such resolutions nationwide, the resolution incorporates a list of products to be boycotted and a process for implementing the boycott, and establishes an ad hoc boycott committee to take the lead in organizing and communication.

Since the resolution was passed, as Israel has deepened and expanded its genocide against the Palestinian people, the Grad Center and CUNY administrations have unleashed retaliation on DGSC leaders for approving and attempting to implement the resolution. DGSC leaders and supporters have been harassed with baseless Title VI investigations. The Grad Center administration has seized control of student listservs to prevent communication about the boycott, wrongfully claiming that our expression violates a state executive order.

This hybrid teach-in is an opportunity to understand the DGSC Five demands resolution and the boycott on student activity fee resources in the context of the broader BDS movement and history, and to address implementation questions and legal concerns. The event is open to the public. Come to learn, share, and grow from our collective experience!

For more information: [email protected]"