BDS Fail: Georgetown U Rejects Motion To Divest From Companies Enabling ‘Violent Israeli Occupation Of Palestine’

TEL AVIV – A Georgetown University advisory board has thrown out a motion to join the anti-Israel boycott on the grounds that “divestment would not be an effective tactic to end hostilities or promote a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility (CISR), which issues recommendations to Georgetown’s Board of Directors, stated in a memo that it “supports the goal of a peaceful resolution that ensures the safety of both peoples and respects dignity and human rights for all.”

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists from the student body in October proposed that the college divest from companies that “enable and profit from the violent Israeli occupation of Palestine.” In January, a student group calling itself “Georgetown University Forming a Radically Ethical Endowment Coalition (GU F.R.E.E.)” urged GU to cease all activity with companies contributing to the “illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Nine companies were accused of being “knowingly and consistently” complicit in Israeli “human rights violations” against “indigenous” Palestinians.

In 2014, 13 Georgetown professors signed a petition to sever all partnerships with Israeli academic institutions, making it the most represented university involved in the American Studies Association’s boycott.

The Algemeiner ranked Georgetown 37^th in its 2016 list of the “40 Worst Colleges for Jewish Students” in North America.