BDS Chicago

BDS Chicago is the Chicago-area chapter of the national boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which acts to delegitimize the state of Israel through consumer boycotts, business and government withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions. It is a project of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), which is itself a project of the WESPAC Foundation. 1  2  3

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Organization
Ideological Alignment: Left of Center
Issue Areas: Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism), Foreign Policy
Website: www.instagram.com/bdschicago/%20%20
Location:

Chicago, IL

Project of:

US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)

Formation:

2004

Contents

    BDS Chicago has voiced its opposition to polices set by the second Trump administration and is listed as a member organization of the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA). 4 The group has also been involved in several pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the Chicago-area, including a July 2025 protest against Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs (D) for his investment of public funds in Israeli bonds. 5

    Activities

    BDS Chicago has been involved with participating in and planning anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrations within the city of Chicago. In January 2025, BDS Chicago participated in a protest against President Donald Trump’s inauguration, advocating for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. 6

    In July 2025, the group partnered with the Anti-War Committee Chicago and 50 other member groups of the Illinois Divestment Campaign to protest the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office for its investment of over $100 million in the state of Israel. The protest specifically targeted Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs (D) who has invested in the Development Corporation of Israel (DCI) since assuming his role in 2015. BDS Chicago and the Illinois Divestment Campaign started a petition, urging Illinois state leadership to divest from Israel entirely. 5

    In August 2025, BDS Chicago co-sponsored a teach-in event hosted by Educators for Palestine in an Illinois bookstore that urged Illinois public educators to divest a portion of their state pension fund that supports Israeli companies. 7

    BDS Chicago is a member of several protest coalitions including the Action Network and the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA). 8  4 BDS Chicago also publishes “BDS friendly” guides for people to purchase goods that align with the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign.” 9  10

    U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)

    The U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) is the parent group of BDS Chicago. It is a coalition of American-Palestinian activists who oppose against the State of Israel. Founded in 2006, it has several chapters across the United States  11 and is itself a fiscally sponsored project of the WESPAC Foundation, also known as the Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation. The WESPAC Foundation claims to advocate against the State of Israel’s “racist occupation” of Palestinian territories while considering Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state.  2  12

    In February 2025, WESPAC joined several pro-Palestinian groups in filing a motion to dismiss a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois which they claimed was an attempt to legally target people who participated in a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside O’Hare International Airport in April 2024. 13  14

    The USPCN claims to have founded the National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) initiative, a network of Palestinian-nationalist university-activist groups.  15 The USPCN has previously organized protests and demonstrations against the State of Israel as well as members of Congress to support pro-Palestinian legislation. This includes a 2021 sit-in at the office of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL),  16  17 opposing the Trump administration’s assassination of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani in 2020, and becoming a member of the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA) as of 2025. 18  4

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    References

    1. “@bdschicago.” Instagram. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/bdschicago/
    2. “Donate to Support USPCN.” USPCN. Archived from November 8, 2020. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108030901/https://uspcn.org/donate-to-support-uspcn/
    3. “Calling out BDS anti-Semitism.” The Canadian Jewish News. August 26, 2015. Accessed January 29, 2018. http://www.cjnews.com/perspectives/opinions/calling-bds-anti-semitism 
    4. “ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS.” Coalition Against the Trump Agenda.” Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.coalitionagainsttrumpagenda.org/endorsers
    5. Goodarzi, Tara. “Statewide campaign aims to end Illinois’ investment in Israel.” Mondoweiss. July 14, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://mondoweiss.net/2025/07/statewide-campaign-aims-to-end-illinois-investment-in-israel/
    6. “2,500 March in Chicago in Negative Wind Chills to Stop the Trump Agenda.” Tribuno del Pueblo. January 20, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://tribunodelpueblo.org/2500-march-in-chicago-in-negative-wind-chills-to-stop-the-trump-agenda/
    7. Franklin, Jae. “Chicago educators host panel on divestment from Israel.” Fight Back! News. August 9, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://fightbacknews.org/articles/chicago-educators-host-panel-on-divestment-from-israel
    8. “BDS Chicago.” Action Network. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://actionnetwork.org/groups/bds-chicago
    9. “@bdschicago Post.” Instagram. November 28, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DRnZ6kgkpqL/?hl=en&img_index=4
    10. “@bdschicago Post.” Instagram. December 2, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DRurAZXAG2y/?hl=en&img_index=4
    11. “About.” US Palestinian Community Network. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://uspcn.org/about/
    12. “US Palestinian Community Network, @uspcn post.” X. May 10, 2018. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://x.com/uspcn/status/994766553462771713
    13. “Pro-Palestine Advocates Move to Dismiss Baseless Lawsuit Targeting Right to Protest in Chicago.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. February 26, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://uscpr.org/pro-palestine-move-to-dismiss-baseless-lawsuit-chicago/
    14. “75-JVP-Omnibus-MTD-SAC.pdf.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. February 25, 2025. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://uscpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/75-JVP-Omnibus-MTD-SAC.pdf
    15. “Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).” Anti-Defamation League. August 9, 2024. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/students-justice-palestine-sjp
    16. “HAPPENING NOW: USPCN-Chicago and allies staging sit-in in Schakowsky’s office.” U.S. Palestinian Community Network. June 10, 2021. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://uspcn.org/happening-now-uspcn-chicago-and-allies-staging-sit-in-in-schakowskys-office/
    17. “H.R.2590 – Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.” Congress.gov. April 15, 2021. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2590
    18. Harty, Nancy. “Protestors march through Chicago calling for de-escalation between U.S., Iran.” Audacy, WBBM Newsradio. January 09, 2020. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/articles/protesters-call-for-de-escalation-between-us-iran