YCL Hamilton
March, 2015
Congratulations to the McMaster BDS committee for successfully leading the campus struggle in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) movement on campus. The Young Communist League in Hamilton is proud of its part within the movement to bring about this preliminary victory in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS)’s movement on campus at McMaster University.
The ability to mobilize and take a stand on one of the most pressing anti-imperialist, anti-colonial, and democratic struggles of our generation was shown with the campaign at McMaster to pass the BDS motion at the McMaster Students Union’s General Assembly on March 22, 2015. 622 students voted in favour of BDS while only 28 voted against – a landslide victory.
The passing of the BDS motion reaffirms the political will of youth and students at McMaster and around the world to demand justice against the crimes of apartheid and occupation caused by the Israeli regime. McMaster students have joined with college and university campuses across Canada, the USA, and the world to support the BDS movement.
All year long, the McMaster BDS committee has engaged students in the struggle of Palestinian people in efforts to make sure students understand what voting for BDS at the GA would mean. YCL Hamilton condemns the actions of Zionist groups on campus in their attempts to silence Palestinian students. These groups claim to desire open dialogue and to be “pro-Palestinian”, but they have consistently been caught lying to students, ripping down approved posters, and intimidating groups about their support of Palestinians on campus, all culminating in the attempt to stop the democratic process of the GA by walking out in order to break quorum when their defeat was sensed. The hypocrisy of these groups has been revealed to students this year and we must continue to resist those that wish to silence the Palestinian resistance.
As a coalition of progressive voices on campus, the McMaster BDS committee united students around Palestine in its anti-imperialist struggle. The struggle does not end with the passing of BDS or even with the victory of the Palestinian people, but with the end of oppression everywhere. YCL Hamilton will continue to be an active committee partner, supporting the efforts of BDS on the McMaster campus and elsewhere with an aim to grow this movement of progressive students on campus.
The student movement at McMaster has shown strong leadership in its effort and we endeavor to build on our success this year. We must develop this movement beyond McMaster and build coalitions with other universities, unions and community groups which support BDS to unite on campaigns and actions.
The current political atmosphere is ripe to expand the BDS movement, expand the student struggle in the anti-war and anti-austerity spheres, and give young people their political voice by engaging in education and action. We seek to build unity and militancy as more layers of the student movement struggle and are victorious on the side of peace and justice, towards a world without war and occupation, towards socialism!