AJC decries Tuft students’ tactics in anti-Israel vote

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BOSTON (Press Release) – The American Jewish Committee-New England was dismayed to learn that the night before the Passover holiday, the Tufts Community Union Senate (Tufts Senate) approved a resolution calling for divestment from four companies doing business with Israel.

The resolution was proposed only this past Thursday and brought to a vote at the Tufts Senate last night. As Passover begins tonight, many Jewish students had left campus before the debate to observe the holiday with their families.

Jonathan Dorfman, President of AJC New England, said: “Universities are supposed to be places where ideas are discussed and debated. Regrettably, the Tufts Senate allowed full discourse on this controversial subject to be suppressed, and hurriedly acted on the resolution—notwithstanding pleas from Jewish students and others to defer discussion until after Passover, when the Jewish student community could fully take part in the debate. We do not deny Tufts students their right to make this misguided political statement. We regret, however, the tactics that were used by the Tufts Senate and hope that in the future it will act in a way that respects diverse opinions on the Tufts campus.”

The resolution was introduced by members of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an avowedly anti-Israel organization, which has actively worked to suppress debate and discussion about the complex and controversial conflict between Israel and its Palestinian and Arab neighbors. SJP has a long record, nationally, and at Tufts specifically, of disrupting speakers and refusing to dialogue with people with whom they disagree.

AJC New England Director Robert Leikind said: “SJP is an organization that has worked steadily, on campus after campus, against dialogue, understanding, and peace. Rather than demonstrate a commitment to the democratic process, the Tufts Senate became a mouthpiece for SJP. It was a betrayal of the values that have made American campuses a model for the world and a sad day for Tufts University. We hope that President Monaco will speak out in defense of the university and in support of liberal education.”

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Preceding provided by the American Jewish Committee (AJC)

1 thought on “AJC decries Tuft students’ tactics in anti-Israel vote”

  1. admin

    StandWithUs condemns the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate for passing a discriminatory resolution to divest from companies doing business with Israel. Many Jewish students were unable to attend the vote to express their concerns because it took place on the eve of Passover. The vote was 17 for, 6 against with 8 abstentions.

    “Students and other members of the Tufts community repeatedly asked the TCU Senate to postpone the debate, but their requests were ignored. As a result, many students who are directly affected by this issue were denied the opportunity to voice their opinions prior to the vote. The purpose of student government is to represent students, but instead the TCU Senate chose to silence many of them,” said Zach Shartiag, New England Campus Coordinator for StandWithUs.

    Senators also explicitly rejected amendments to disassociate the resolution from the discriminatory global boycott campaign against Israel, remove factually misleading language, and affirm the rights of both Jews and Palestinians to self-determination. Instead, the TCU Senate contributed to a campaign which seeks the elimination of Israel and the violation of Jewish rights to self-determination.

    StandWithUs commends students who stood up to this campaign of hate, in the face of the undemocratic actions of their elected representatives. We will continue working with ICC, Hillel, and our other partners to support pro-Israel activism on campus in New England and beyond.

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