HYY’s Representative Council approved a member initiative on an academic boycott of Israel
NEWS
In its meeting on 28 May 2024, HYY’s Representative Council decided to approve a member initiative that obligates HYY to support an academic boycott of Israel and demand the University of Helsinki to follow suit.
HYY’s members have the right to make member initiatives to the Representative Council and Board. The member initiative ‘HYY must promote a boycott of Israel’ by the Students for Palestine collective was submitted to the Student Union on 10 May 2024. By the time the initiative was submitted, it had been signed by 697 members of the Student Union and 26 organisations operating under HYY.
In its meeting on 16 May 2024, HYY’s Board decided to submit the initiative to the Representative Council for approval. The member initiative was addressed in the Representative Council meeting held on 28 May 2024. The Representative Council approved the initiative by 35 votes to 6.
The initiative demands that HYY publicly states its support for the academic boycott advocated by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movements. The initiative further requires HYY to publicly demand that the University of Helsinki commits to the academic boycott and breaks off its relations to Israeli educational institutions participating in upholding Israel’s apartheid system.
HYY’s Board is responsible for implementing the initiative.
Further information
Antti Kaijansinkko
Chair of HYY’s Board
antti.kaijansinkko@hyy.fi
050 475 1280
