The Amnesty report was widely condemned by US and European governments, Jewish and Israeli organizations, and by both an Islamist Israeli Arab politician and the head of Amnesty’s Israel branch. But it follows similar reports by Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem, and anticipates additional reports from the Commission of Inquiry that was recently created by the United Nations Rights Committee.

Despite a hostile reception from governments, BDS supporters are already referencing the Amnesty report, including those promoting a BDS resolution at Concordia University. In Britain, the Labour Party’s former shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, spoke in opposition to a government plan to prohibit local councils from adopting BDS measures, saying that he was “against investments going into Israel, as I do believe according to the Amnesty Report, the Human Rights report and many Jewish institutions as well, that actually it is an apartheid state the way they treat the Palestinians.”

There were also a number of significant BDS-related developments in academia. Among the most noteworthy were campus protests aimed at Israelis. At the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, BDS supporters protested outside a classroom where retired IDF Major General Amos Yadlin was speaking. Calling Yadlin a “war criminal,” the protestors accused the university of “lack of regard for Palestinian narratives.” The same BDS group also protested the presence of Sabra brand hummus on campus. Additional protests again the brand were held at Northwestern University.

Similarly, at Cambridge University, Israeli official and former cabinet minister Tzipi Livni was met by anti-Israeli protests that included flares and whistles, chants of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and posters calling her “Zionist scum.” Jewish students and the British Universities Secretary condemned the tone of the protests.

At the University of Manchester, the head of StandWithUs in Britain was confronted and abused by pro-Palestinian protestors, who called her “worse than Hitler.” At the University Chicago, the local Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter urged the boycott of “sh**y Zionist classes,” specifically naming several taught by Israelis, warning that they “serve as vehicles to spread Zionist propaganda.” In response to a media inquiry, a university spokesperson stated that the institution’s “values compel our steadfast opposition to discrimination, including rejection of antisemitism, anti-Palestinian bias, and other forms of bias that are incompatible with our commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

Similarly, at the University of Illinois, the SJP chapter condemned the School of Public Health’s hosting of Israeli speakers, while the chapter at UCLA called on students to boycott a scholarship at the School of Public Affairs founded by former Rep. Lynn Schenk (D-NY) because she is a “Zionist.” At the University of Connecticut, the SJP chapter protested the university president’s plan to travel to Israel.

Efforts to ostracize Israelis are also underway in the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), where the membership is voting on a BDS resolution. In response, at least a half dozen universities have dropped or declined to renew their institutional memberships. The bases of these decisions have not been publicized, but they are likely in response to potential threats to funding should educational institutions endorse MESA’s desired policy of discrimination on the basis of national origin.

In the Netherlands, a number of universities have issued a statement suspending compliance with a freedom of information request filed by an anti-Israel NGO, that demanded they disclose ties with Israeli and Jewish entities. The group making the request — the Rights Forum — was founded by a notoriously antisemitic former Dutch prime minister, who has accused Israel of being a “Nazi state” that “poisons Palestinians.”

There were also a number of BDS developments in the student realm. Reports indicate that an unofficial sexual assault awareness group at SUNY New Paltz excluded Jewish students on the basis of their support for Israel. The group responded that any defense of Israel as a “a non-colonial state and justifying its occupation of the area, is being indifferent [and] condoning the oppression of Palestinians,” and that “Allowing these beliefs to permeate into our organization would exclude Palestinian students and survivors.”

Pushback against the IHRA working definition of antisemitism also occurred in February. At the University of Texas, the student government took up a resolution to withdrawn and condemn its previous endorsement of the IHRA definition. The local SJP chapter later withdrew the resolution after university officials expressed concern about the student government taking up “non-university issues.” At Queen Mary University of London Jewish students protested an event on “resisting and refusing IHRA.” In contrast, the student government at Duke University approved a resolution condemning antisemitism and endorsing the IHRA definition.

The student union at the University of Toronto voted to approve a BDS resolution that calls on the union to “wholly divest funds and further on forbid investment to firms complicit in the occupation of Palestinian Territory.” The concepts of “firms” and “Palestinian Territory” were not defined. The new resolution comes in the wake of a late 2021 decision by the student union at the Scarborough campus to boycott all such “firms” active on campus, and to “refrain from engaging with organizations, services, or take part in events that further normalize Israeli apartheid.”

The impact of the wave of BDS protests and efforts to ostracize Jews and Israelis on campus was highlighted by a call from members of Congress for the Department of Education to do more to prevent campus antisemitism. The Department of Education has delayed issuing rules regarding antisemitism until the end of 2022. Jewish leaders similarly called on Congress to provide more support for Department of Homeland Security programs aimed at protecting Jewish institutions. The impact of BDS rhetoric and protests has also been documented in reports showing the rise of antisemitic incidents in both the US and in the UK.

In the political sphere, support for BDS and animosity towards Israel are now clear litmus tests on the “progressive” left, in both districts with and without Jewish constituencies. The split within the party is demonstrated by the selection of ‘Squad’ member and BDS supporter Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) to give a response to President Biden’s State of the Union Address on behalf of the Working Families Party.

Another important BDS-related development is a statement by a number of progressive groups opposing the Abraham Accords. Led by “Jewish Voice for Peace Action,” the 29 groups included all major BDS organizations, such as the American Friends Service Committee, CAIR, the Center for Constitutional Rights, IfNotNow, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). The statement makes the accusation that

While masquerading as ‘peace’ and ‘diplomacy’, the Abraham Accords and this legislation are in fact an endorsement of arms sales and political favors between the U.S. and authoritarian regimes — including weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates and the recognition of Morocco’s illegal annexation of Western Sahara — in exchange for the sidelining of Palestinian rights.

Legislators are thus increasingly caught between the positions of their constituents and the far-left anti-Israel consensus. One example of this is Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) of New York, who withdrew his support for bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening the Abraham Accords. Bowman, whose district includes heavily Jewish southern Westchester, stated that after a J Street-sponsored trip to Israel, he “became aware that the deals that this bill supports and seeks to pursue, have included deals at odds with human rights and safety for everyday people in the region.” In reality, the legislation specifically calls for the US to “support a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states — a democratic Jewish state of Israel and a viable democratic Palestinian state — living side by side in peace, security, and mutual recognition.” Bowman had been previously criticized for his trip by the Democratic Socialists of America.

The impact of antisemitism in politics is likely reflected in the continuing upswing in antisemitic acts across the US, including vandalism of property in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, and elsewhere.

A version of this article was published at SPME, where the author is a contributor.