McGill U Professor Calls Student Judicial Ban on BDS ‘Huge;’ Says It Recognizes ‘Jewish Concerns Deserve Respect Like All Others’

A history professor and anti-BDS warrior at McGill University in Canada responded enthusiastically to a landmark decision taken on Wednesday by the legal arm of the institution’s student body to ban anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions activities on campus.

Gil Troy, among 150 academics at McGill who recently signed an open letter lauding the principal of the university for condemning BDS and calling on faculty everywhere to do the same, told The Algemeiner on Thursday that in his view, “This decision is huge! It means that Jewish concerns are respected with all others, and that antisemitism is also recognized as bigotry, as well as something that triggers macro-aggressions.”

Troy, author of Why I Am A Zionist and a Shalom Hartman Research Fellow in Jerusalem, where he lives, was responding to the “Reference re Legality of the BDS Motion and Similar Motions” — a long, detailed “legal” document issued by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Judicial Board, which reached what it called a “unanimous” decision to eliminate efforts to promote anti-Israel boycotts at the Montreal-based school, asserting that such activities are discriminatory, unconstitutional and in violation of SSMU’s “equity policy.”

The decision came in the wake of three BDS motions over the past year and a half, which were put to a student vote at McGill and defeated.

“The fight spilled over into some antisemitic expressions on campus,” Troy said. “And while normally, from an ideological standpoint, I would prefer to see such battles fought out democratically, the BDS forces have continually ignored, disrespected and undermined the democratic process — repeatedly raising the issue despite losing. Mere days ago, they even used some sneaky, sleazy procedure to bypass the student ratification vote.”

Troy, who has been a leading member of the “Vote No” campaign to persuade professors at all Canadian universities to band together to combat the phenomenon, concluded: “I hope this wise decision will allow McGill to return to the civility and reason that has been the general tone on campus for most of my 20-plus years with this world-class institution.”