Student
associations at the University of Vienna issued a statement on Wednesday,
declaring their opposition to every form of antisemitism, including the BDS
(Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement targeting Israel.
“As student representatives it is important
for us to criticize the academic boycott against Israel, which entirely
excludes Israeli academics,” the student council of the University of Vienna
said.
The
rejection of BDS by continental student organizations is believed to the first
major European opposition to the hubs of anti-Israel and antisemitic academic
initiatives in the United Kingdom and the US.
The
student council added, ”There are rising violent antisemitics attacks on , above
all, American universities, which are connected to BDS and Israel Apartheid
Week. Academic events from Jewish
professors are regularly disrupted. And hostility toward the existence of
Israel is expressed by the burning of Israeli flags.”
Camila
Garfias, a member of the association of socialist students (VSStÖ), said “Antisemitic
violence is part of daily life in Europe.” The association of socialist
students is affiliated with the Social Democratic Party in Austria. (SPÖ).
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann is from the SPÖ.
The
student group noted that Jews in France no longer feel safe and are immigrating
to Israel. An antisemitic riot took
place against the Israeli soccer Maccabi Haifa in Salzburg; businesses in Paris
were vandalized with antisemitic slogans, as well as Synagogues in Germany. The
students said their examples of the manifestations of antisemitism are just a
few and antisemitism remains part and parcel of everyday life in Europe.
The
groups that are part of the statement opposing BDS and antisemitism are the
main umbrella organization Austrian Students Union of Vienna University , as
well as the Green Party student organization,Socialist Students, and Communist
Students – Left List.
