Should Rutgers sell investments in Israel to pressure peace talks? Students voting on it

Rutgers University students are voting this week on referendums that target investments in Israel and the school’s partnership with Tel Aviv University, making Rutgers the latest in a growing number of schools to grapple with student-led divestment pushes.

The referendums, part of spring elections that run until Friday, come amid a surge of pro-Palestinian activism at colleges and universities across the country, fueled by the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel divestment campaigns go back two decades, but the efforts have grown more vocal and widespread since the outbreak of war on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel.

The Rutgers vote targets weapons manufacturers, security companies and a university that allegedly benefits from or participates in occupation and human rights violations in Palestinian territories. Divestment — selling off assets or holdings — is a way to pressure Israel to uphold international law, activists say.

But critics say such measures — part of the larger boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, or BDS — try to isolate and delegitimize Israel, and that they stoke division. The divestment vote comes at a tense time on campus, as Rutgers faces heated protests and allegations of antisemitism.

Referendum questions at Rutgers

Students at Rutgers-New Brunswick face two referendum questions. One asks if the university should divest from companies "that profit from, engage in, or contribute to the government of Israel’s human rights violations?" Another asks if Rutgers should end its partnership with Tel Aviv University, including with the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub in New Brunswick that promotes medical research.

The Endowment Justice Collective at Rutgers, a coalition of students, faculty and community groups leading the divestment effort, said the measure is aimed at Israeli bonds and investments in companies that make weapons, like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Electric. The group also alleged that Tel Aviv University has close ties to Israeli security and arms companies.

There must be a majority vote to pass and at least 10% of the student body must participate in the vote. Student bodies have passed Israel divestment measures at other colleges and universities, but they have not been implemented by their administrations.

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Rutgers considers divestment requests from the university community, if they meet criteria defined by university policy. The Joint Committee on Investments investigates such requests and can make a recommendation to the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees.

Three years ago, university leadership voted to divest from fossil fuel investments, an action recommended by an ad hoc committee of faculty, students and staff. About 90% of students supported fossil fuel divestment in a referendum.

The Collective has campaigned "for ethical divestment from fossil fuels, apartheid, war, and the prison industrial complex” since its founding in 2019, according to statements from the group.

The Collective's other recommendations, outlined in a 2020 report, have not been adopted. Israel divestment is controversial, and its passage by the student body would likely prompt both celebrations and backlash.

Divestment controversy at Rutgers

From apartheid to climate change to fossil fuels, student divestment campaigns have a long history on college campuses. Divestment campaigns aimed at the Israeli government and military also are not new, going back two decades, but they have spread since the Israel-Hamas War.

Supporters say divestment is aimed at institutions or companies involved in violations of international law, and not at individuals. They note that peace talks have failed to stop occupation or settlement expansion.

"The Rutgers administration had once funded the South African apartheid state, and it was the students, through collective action, who demanded divestment," the Endowment Justice Collective stated in its divestment petition. "Rutgers has forgotten its legacy of divestment, so our work is not done. It is time for us to continue this legacy of justice and hope, to choose love for the community over greed, and to divest once and for all."

In higher education, the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement has swelled as the toll of war grows. Nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 and 250 taken hostage — about 130 who remain in custody. Over six months, more than 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza and thousands more are missing and injured. Israeli bombardment has also destroyed or damaged 378 schools and all 12 universities in Gaza, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Boycott, divestment and sanctions measures are controversial among many Jewish and pro-Israel groups, who say they seek to isolate or demonize Israel, and that they promote division instead of dialogue. The Rutgers vote comes at a tense time on campus amid a reported rise in antisemitism and a federal civil rights investigation into anti-Jewish incidents. Students and organizations say they have also faced an anti-Palestinian backlash.

"These referenda, like the BDS movement overall, are undemocratic, discriminatory and violate academic freedom," Rutgers Hillel, a Jewish student organization, wrote online. "While these referenda are unlikely to affect university policy, they are very likely to increase antisemitism, overall division and hostility on campus."

Academic boycotts also hamper the free exchange of ideas and educational opportunities, the student organization wrote.

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In recent months, student bodies have passed Israel divestment referendum at the University of California at Davis, Brown University and University of Virginia, among other schools. Students have also held hunger strikes and sit-ins to call for divestment.

Rutgers said in a statement in January that it abides by laws and regulations governing public university endowments.

“The process for divestment is clear and has been successful with respect to the university's divestment from fossil fuels,” said spokesperson Megan Schumann Florance. “The university’s investment policy encourages members of the university community to submit divestment requests, which are considered by the university’s Joint Committee on Investments.”

The Rutgers’ endowment fund is valued at $1.8 billion, according to the university's Finance and Administration webpage.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers students voting on Israel divestment referendums