Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly announced that he will continue to condemn the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an international campaign to put economic pressure on the Israeli government to end its occupation of Palestinian land, due to its alleged anti-Semitic nature and the discrimination attributed to it.
He delivered this statement when one of the people present at a town hall meeting Tuesday at Brock University in St. Catherines which the prime minister was attending inquired whether Trudeau would retract his earlier condemnation of the movement.
"It’s not right to discriminate or to make someone feel unsafe on campus because of their religion, and unfortunately the BDS movement is often linked to those kinds of frames", Trudeau said, stating that he will continue to condemn the movement.
He also argued that anti-Semitism manifests itself not only in “targeting of the individuals” but also the very State of Israel itself, adding, however, that criticizing the decisions made by the State of Israel is not anti-Semitic.
A number of netizens, however, apparently weren’t convinced by Trudeau’s rhetoric.
Is it antisemitic if it is aimed at Israel's corrupt, greed and power driven regime, not the wider Jewish populace per se?
— Lie Fed (@lie_fed) 17 января 2019 г.
In a town hall addressing anti-Semitism, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau promises to "always condemn BDS."
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) 17 января 2019 г.
But this is anti-Semitism!
Tying Israel's policies to the Jewish people is a form of anti-Semitism. Criticizing Israel's policies is not! pic.twitter.com/05Zk3aEL6W
BDS singles out Israel. I don’t know what other countries are occupying Palestinian land and killing Palestinians. I’m sure if Trudeau would point out these countries than BDS would not have to single out Israel. What a friggin stupid statement by the leader of our country.
— Chirvan Edross 🔥 (@cedross) 16 января 2019 г.
I call BS on you Trudeau. The BDS movement is about supporting the rights of Palestinians, and speaking out against the apartheid policies of Israel. For shame that you say otherwise.
— Terry Bridges (@terry_tjb) 16 января 2019 г.
READ MORE: Canadian Students Federation Endorses BDS, Condemns Israeli ‘Atrocities in Gaza’
In November, the Canadian Federation of Students endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement along with a statement condemning "the ongoing occupation of Palestine."
