The governing body of Brown University, an Ivy League school known for its left-wing politics, rejected a proposal Wednesday to divest the university’s holdings from Israeli companies or companies with ties to the Israeli military.
The Brown Daily Herald reported:
Brown University will not divest from companies with Israeli military ties, its governing body voted Tuesday.
The decision, announced publicly Wednesday, follows a recommendation against divestment issued by Brown’s Advisory Committee on University Resource Management, or ACURM. The committee voted 8-2 against recommending divestment, with one member abstaining.
As Breitbart News had reported in May, Brown University was the first in the nation to capitulate to demands made by pro-Palestinian activists at an “encampment” on campus. According to an agreement with the activists, Brown would hold a vote on divestment if the activists dismantled their encampment peacefully, without police intervention.
One board member was so outraged that he resigned, writing: “I find it morally reprehensible that holding a divestment vote was even considered, much less that it will be held—especially in the wake of the deadliest assault on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. … The university leadership has for some reason chosen to reward, rather than punish, the activists for disrupting campus life, breaking school rules, and promoting violence and antisemitism at Brown.”
StandWithUs, a pro-Israel group, called the Brown vote a victory over the anti-Israel (and antisemitic) “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: (BDS) movement: “This victory at Brown is part of a broader movement across college campuses rejecting efforts to use divestment as a tool to create divisiveness on campus while undermining Israel’s legitimacy. BDS campaigns with ties to terrorist organizations, fuel hate and conflict, while doing nothing to promote genuine dialogue or peace. Brown University’s decision sends a powerful message that intellectual integrity and inclusivity will prevail over manipulation, coercion and hate.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
