Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon hosted an anti-BDS conference at the UN entitled “Legal Scholars Against BDS.” This conference was the second in a series which began with a major summit in the UN General Assembly in May 2016. At the May event, history was made as over 2,000 students and professionals joined together to combat the BDS movement. The “Legal Scholars Against BDS” conference brought together law students, legal academics, and international law experts. High-level discussions on the issues of law, policy, and legislation related to BDS were facilitated by leading experts in these fields. By focusing on the legal tools and strategies needed to combat BDS, the conference aimed to make real progress in the battle against the boycott movement within the legal sphere. “We will not stop until we expose every lie, and unmask the anti-Semitism at the heart of the BDS movement,” said Ambassador Danon. “We are here to tell the BDS activists, ‘see you in court!’ We demand an end to the hate while our enemies demand an end to the Jewish state,” the Ambassador continued. Professor Alan Dershowitz, the former Harvard Law School professor and renowned civil liberties lawyer, addressed the conference participants saying, “The goal of BDS is to miseducate the future leaders of the world and deceive them,” he said. “This is a tactic used by greater movement intent on destroying Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish people,” he continued. ZOA president, Morton Klein, spoke as well and encouraged the participants to speak out and defeat BDS by combating the lies spread about Israel.
