On Tuesday, April 16, the Student Association (SA) voted 14-11-2 in favor of a resolution urging Binghamton University to implement Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) onto our campus. In this nearly five-hour meeting, there was seemingly no time for public comment, a period allowing those outside of Congress — and those whom they yield to — to share their thoughts and opinions on resolutions and bills being passed. This action severely limited those who were able to speak, and many students were silenced from sharing their voices on an incredibly divisive issue. I am one of those students. My statement, intended for the Congress meeting, is written in the two paragraphs below:

My name is Myles Resnick. I am a junior, the current vice president of public relations of Hillel at Binghamton and the incoming executive vice president of the organization. I am also a member of the LGBTQ community on campus and a former intern with the Q Center. Over the last year, I have watched a space that is “designed to foster a campus environment that is inclusive and supportive of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions” become anything but to the queer Jewish population of this campus. Since Oct. 7, I have watched the Q Center’s poster from Keshet, the LGBTQ Jewish Intersectional organization, move out of the main room of the center. I have watched friends who would attend Hillel events with me before Oct. 7 distance themselves from me after it. The climate of this campus has become increasingly divided over the last six months, and these student movements make me feel forced to choose between two aspects of my identity that do not contradict one another.

This pressure will only increase with the implementation of a BDS resolution, which would demonize the Jewish and Zionist components of it. I can no longer stand idly by, forced to pick if it is more important to be Queer or Jewish. I miss my non-Jewish friends. I miss connecting with those who are different from me, all because I am Jewish. This resolution would have you endorse the demonization of aspects of my Jewish identity, normalizing the exclusion of Jewish students from feeling a connection to any intersectional pieces of their identity. I want to return to the Q Center. I want to reconnect with the people I have lost since Oct. 7, and I want to continue to exchange cultures and stories.

I cannot be passive. I am a queer Jew, and any efforts to force me to separate these two central pieces of my life is something I cannot stand by.

A sizable number of those advocating for this resolution were Jewish students. They hoped to emphasize that despite the coalition of Jewish organizations in opposition, there were still Jewish students in favor of this introduction of BDS to campus. While I can respect this minority of our student body, there are more minorities on this issue. The queer community at large on campus has been in favor of this resolution, with two of the more prolific queer clubs — Rainbow Pride Union & SHADES — being presented as organizations in favor. However, these organizations do not speak for all queer students on this campus. These clubs, like the aforementioned coalition of Jewish organizations, may represent a large majority, but not everyone. And if the minority of Jews for this resolution’s voice is allowed to be heard, so too should the voice of Queer students who are confidently and unequivocally proud of their Jewish and Zionist identities.

Myles Resnick is a guest columnist and a junior with an individualized major in mass media studies.

Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the views of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial.