Brown University Trustee rejected a controversial proposal It cut economic ties with companies doing business with Israel and rejected demands from pro-Palestinian student protesters.
“Brown University will not divest from the 10 companies described in student-led divestiture proposals as promoting the 'Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory,'” the Ivy League school said in a statement. said in a statement Wednesday.
The Brown Corporation, which manages the school's $7.2 billion endowment and is chaired by Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, said Tuesday that They voted on an issue that has roiled the Providence, Rhode Island, campus since the massacre in Israel. .
This spring, as a concession to pro-Palestinian groups, the Brown administration offered a formal vote on the sale in exchange for students voluntarily clearing their tent encampments in the days and weeks leading up to graduation. promised to do so.
Divestment is a tactic promoted by the BDS movement, and its acronym stands for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” against Israel over its policies in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel supporters say the movement, which has taken root on college campuses across the country, is anti-Semitic.
Several prominent Brown University alumni opposed holding the vote, including hedge fund tycoon Joseph Edelman and real estate investor Barry Sternlicht. Last month, Perceptive Advisors CEO Edelman resigned from the 54-person board of directors in protest.
The 24 attorneys general also warned According to Bloomberg, if the trustees vote in favor of the sale, Brown will be subject to a fine.
The 10 companies targeted for sale are Volvo, Airbus, Boeing, General Dynamics, General Electric, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Textron, and Safariland.
“Brown's exposure to the 10 companies identified in the proposed sale is… minimal” and that Brown “has no direct investment in any of the companies being sold.”
The university added: “Brown's indirect exposure at these companies is so small that it cannot be considered directly responsible for any societal harm.”
Mr. Brown announced last week that his fund had an 11.3% return on investments for the fiscal year that ended in June.
This large profit allowed Brown to allocate a record $281 million to its operating budget.
Moynihan (whose decision to volunteer as president of the Brown Corporation raised eyebrows) and Brown President Christina Paxson also said the university's “mission does not include resolving or adjudicating global disputes. ” he emphasized.
“If the corporation were to divest, it would signal to students and academics that there is an ‘approved’ point of view that members of the community are expected to follow.”
Pro-Palestinian student groups were furious at losing the vote.
“This decision is a moral and ethical failure of unimaginable proportions, compounded by the opaque, undemocratic and frankly shameful manner in which the Corporation voted in secret.” Brown Divest Coalition told Bloomberg News.
The newspaper reached out to Brown University Students for Justice for Palestine for comment.
