(JTA) — The student union at Ryerson University in Toronto voted to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement aimed at Israel.
More than 100 students attending the student union’s annual general meeting last week voted on the measure, which prohibits the student group from having ties with companies that do business in Israel, including Home Depot, Costco and Sears, the Eyeopener student newspaper reported. Also, Sabra hummus also will no longer be sold at the Ryerson cafeteria.
Ryerson becomes at least the third Canadian university’s student union to join the BDS in the past year.
Students opposed to the BDS motion, many of whom tore up their voting cards and left the April 2 meeting in protest, said they felt the vote was unfair and the student union was hostile to their interests.
“[T]oday, on Ryerson campus, I’ve never felt so belittled and uncomfortable in a room,” student Julia Bond told the Eyeopener. “The RSU is supposed to be unbiased and neutral. But they aren’t, they’re Palestinian.”
The University of Windsor’s student union passed a referendum boycotting Israel earlier this year, and York University students passed a similar motion last spring.
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