The regional Parliament of Navarra, in northern Spain, declined issuing a statement in support of a public university which promoted a pro-BDS course.
The pro-BDS course entitled ‘Apartheid in Palestine’ had been offered online by the Public University of Navarra (UPNA). The Federation of Jewish communities of Spain (FCJE), had denounced the course on the grounds that it would ‘encourage antisemitism’, and expressed concerns about its ‘partisan character that would present a distorted version of the conflict in the Middle East.’
The proposed statement had been put forward in the Parliament’s Board of Spokespersons by the far-left parties EH Bildu, Podemos and I-E, and had been supported by the left-wing PSN and Geroa Bai parties. However, the centre-right Navarra Suma coalition voted against the statement. The parliament’s regulations require unanimity for such a statement to be approved.
The spokesman of Podemos, Mikel Buil, declared that his party had proposed the statement due to the “attempts to boycott the course and the orchestrated attacks by different lobbies.”
