US Senator Urges Brown University to Reject BDS Proposal

Brown University has been again counseled by a prominent voice against adopting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel ahead of the Brown Corporation’s upcoming vote on the issue in October.

As previously reported, Brown University agreed in May to hold a vote on divestment from Israel, a demand put forth by the anti-Zionist student Brown Divest Coalition (BDC). In exchange, BDC dismantled a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” they had lived in illegally for three weeks to protest the Israel-Hamas war and the university’s academic and economic ties to Israel. According to The Brown Daily Herald, Brown president Christina Paxson initially only promised the protesters a meeting with members of the Brown Corporation, but the students pushed for more concessions and ultimately coaxed her into making divestment a real possibility.

In May, representatives of BDC met with the Brown Corporation for preliminary talks, the Herald has reported. Since then, they have submitted a report outlining their recommendations for divestment to the university’s Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACRUM). ACRUM will, by Sept. 30, review it and issue its own report of recommendations, which Paxson will forward to the Brown Corporation. So far, the president has described their discussions positively, saying in a letter to the campus community that “the members of the Corporation expressed appreciation to the students for sharing their views and perspectives.”

On Friday, US Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) joined a chorus of voices calling on Brown to reject BDS, which aims to destroy Israel, the world’s only Jewish state.

“The BDS movement has been widely criticized for its impact on Jewish students and communities, often fostering an environment where antisemitic attitudes can flourish and spread like wildfire,” Scott wrote to the trustees sitting on the Brown Corporation. “For Jewish students on campus, the endorsement of such a vile movement proves that antisemitic and anti-Israel views have taken over university leadership. Normalizing views that delegitimize Israel, an American ally and the only true democracy in the Middle East, normalizes and rewards the abhorrent behavior of anti-Israel protesters, critically undermining Jewish students’ sense of security and inclusion within the academic community. This is not merely a matter of institutional policy; it has real, tangible effects on the lives and well being of students on Brown’s campus.”

Scott added that he once, as governor of Florida, signed legislation proscribing the BDS movement, a series of measures passed in the state to prevent antisemitism from the far left or far right from creeping into the public sphere.

“Today, more than a dozen states have followed in Florida’s footsteps,” he continued. “I cannot stress enough that this decision by the board to hold such a vote serves as a stark reminder of the imminent threat the BDS movement poses to American values and support for democratic states around the world. Today, violent campus protesters seek to intimidate and silence Brown’s Jewish community into subservience. The Brown University board should not be accommodating to them.”

Scott is not the first person to object to Brown University’s flirtation with anti-Israel extremism. Earlier this month, a trustee of the Brown Corporation resigned from his position, citing the upcoming vote, castigating the university for acceding to demands he says are rooted in antisemitism and murderous intent.

“It’s no coincidence that leading pro-boycott groups have ties to terrorist organizations that seek the annihilation of the Jewish people,” Joseph Edelman wrote in an op-ed, published in the Wall Street Journal. “In the end, that is the goal of the BDS movement, and I can’t accept the treatment of a hate movement as legitimate and deserving of a hearing. Brown’s policy of appeasement won’t work. It\s a capitulation to the very hatred that led to the Holocaust and the unspeakable horrors of Oct. 7.”

Despite being reputed as one of the most progressive colleges in America, Brown University has until recently fiercely guarded its campus against BDS, which aims to isolate Israel from the world community as the first step towards its destruction. Just months ago, Paxson ordered arrests of dozens of students for unlawful activity and rejected BDS even after BDC amassed inside an administrative building and vowed not to eat until she capitulated.

Paxson’s sudden concession to a group that has cheered terrorism and anti-Jewish hatred could lead to “immediate and profound legal consequences,” two dozen attorneys general in the US warned in a letter late last month.

“It may trigger the application of laws in nearly three-fourths of states prohibiting states and their instrumentalities from contracting with, investing in, or otherwise doing business with entities that discriminate against Israel, Israelis, or those who do business with either,” the missive, written principally by Arkansas state attorney Tim Griffin, explained. “Adopting that proposal may require our states — and others — to terminate any existing relationships with Brown and those associated with it, divest from any university debt held by state pension plans and other investment vehicles, and otherwise refrain from engaging with Brown and those associated with. We therefore urge you to reject this antisemitic and unlawful proposal.”

Thirty-five states in the US have anti-BDS laws on their books, including New York, Texas, Nevada, Illinois, and California. Tennessee passed one in April 2023, and in the same year, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) issued an executive order banning agencies from awarding contracts with companies participating in the BDS movement. The justice system has repeatedly upheld the legality of such measures. In February 2023, the US Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to Arkansas’ anti-BDS law, which argued that requiring contractors to confirm that they are not boycotting Israel before doing business with the University of Arkansas is unconstitutional. Several months later, a federal appeals court dismissed a challenge to Texas’ anti-BDS law, ruling that the plaintiff who brought it lacked standing.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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