Brown University Concealing Divestment Recommendation From Public Until Trustee Vote

Brown University is concealing from the public the recommendation of an advisory committee which recently submitted its opinion on divestment from Israel to president Christina Paxson, the Brown Daily Herald reported on Tuesday.

As The Algemeiner 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, 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, the group has given a presentation outlining their proposal for divestment to the university’s Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACRUM), which was assigned to hear it and issue its own recommendation to Paxson by Sept. 30.

ACRUM has done so, the Herald said on Tuesday, explaining that Paxson is keeping what they decided a secret.

“We know that many members of the Brown community have a strong interest in the content of ACRUM’s report,” Paxson wrote in a letter, portions of which were quoted by the paper, to the campus community. “Consistent with past practice, the report will be shared later this month at the same time that the Corporation’s decision on divestment is announced.”

Citing information provided by unnamed “university officials,” the paper added that “the report is being kept confidential to prevent the spread of misinformation about the Corporation vote and to reduce the risk of threats and hostile rhetoric directed toward ACRUM’s members.”

Brown University’s consideration of divestment from Israel, a core tenet of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement which aims to destroy Israel by forcing the severance of its business and diplomatic relationships, has been criticized by federal lawmakers and higher education experts. One of its own trustees, Joseph Edelman, was so outraged by the decision that he resigned from the Brown Corporation in protest of it.

“It’s no coincidence that leading pro-boycott groups have ties to terrorist organizations that seek the annihilation of the Jewish people,” Edelman wrote in an op-ed, published in the Wall Street Journal, which announced his resignation. “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 is a capitulation to the very hatred that led to the Holocaust and the unspeakable horrors of Oct. 7.”

Last month, US Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) implored Brown to reject BDS, citing its “impact on Jewish students and communities.”

He continued, “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.”

Despite being reputed as one of the most progressive colleges in America, Brown University has until recently fiercely guarded its campus against BDS. 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.”

Embracing BDS may also compromise Brown’s financial health. According to new a study which measured the havoc BDS would wreak on university investment portfolios, divestment from Israel would incinerate over $300 million in returns for the university’s endowment in the just the next decade.

“University endowments that divest from Israel could face significant financial consequences,” JLens, the Jewish investment network which commissioned the study, said in September. “Lower investment returns could compromise a university’s ability to provide scholarships, fund research, and invest in campus facilities.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Brown University Concealing Divestment Recommendation From Public Until Trustee Vote first appeared on Algemeiner.com.