Canadian university fails to pass BDS motion

Published February 29th, 2016 - 07:00 GMT
McGill has ranked in the top 25 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement for four consecutive years. (Twitter)
McGill has ranked in the top 25 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement for four consecutive years. (Twitter)

Students at Montreal’s McGill University fail to ratify a pro-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions motion against Israel.

The controversial motion, which passed in the university’s student society on February 22 by a vote of 512 to 357, and was seen as a blow by pro-Israel students, could not be ratified after being rejected by an online vote of 2,819 – or 57 percent of voting undergraduate students – to 2,119, or about 43 percent. About 440 students abstain.

The BDS movement, which among other things calls for universities to cut ties with Israeli universities, flies in the face of the tolerance and respect we cherish as values fundamental to a university,” McGill principal and vice chancellor, Suzanne Fortier, says in a statement.
 
“It proposed actions that are contrary to the principles of academic freedom, equity, inclusiveness, and the exchange of views and ideas in responsible open discourse,” she adds.
 

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