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Princeton University students are currently advancing a student government referendum that urges the University to halt usage of Caterpillar construction equipment. The referendum cites, among other reasons, “the violent role that Caterpillar machinery has played in the mass demolition of Palestinian homes.” In its explanatory section, the referendum cites the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement, whose co-founder calls for an end to the Jewish state.
This is not the first time Princeton has seen anti-Israel motions. In 2015, a much more ambitious divestment from Israel failed to pass.
In Fall 2014, Prof. Max Weiss led a petition composed of Princeton faculty to encourage Princeton to divest from Israel. However, a counter-petition, signed by 300 students, was published, arguing for “investment in both Israeli and Palestinian society as the foundation for peace.” Board members of the Center for Jewish Life (CJL) also led a faculty counter-petition. The University made clear that, in the absence of clear consensus on the issue, they would not divest, and the effort fizzled.
The following semester, Spring 2015, the Princeton Divests Coalition gathered signatures and secured a broader divestment referendum on the USG ballot. The coalition called for Princeton “to divest from all multinational corporations that contribute to or profit from the illegal military occupation of the Palestinian territories,” citing Caterpillar as a company.
The Princeton Committee on Palestine (PCP) supported divestment efforts as well. After researching prior attempts at divestment, PCP implemented a multi-prong advocacy strategy: writing op-eds, spreading its message through flyers and social media, engaging students in face-to-face discussions, and hosting events. Princeton Divests Coalition also hosted a faculty panel, during which several members, including Cornel West GS ’80, likened Israel’s actions to South African Apartheid.
However, the referendum was met with fierce opposition. J Street U and Tigers for Israel collaborated on a coalition called No Divest, which also promoted their message through news, social media, and in-person conversations. No Divest’s panel, “The Case Against BDS,” featured professors Melissa Lane, Robert George, and Michael Walzer, as well as Dan Kurtzer, former US Ambassador to Israel.
Many students weighed in on divestment in the Daily Princetonian. Recalling her experiences at a West Bank military checkpoint, Lina Saud ’15 wrote that “Dismantling this systematic oppression would create a space to improve relations” and ultimately reach “a peaceful solution to the conflict.” Caroline Snowden ’17 disagreed, arguing that divestment “does not forward reconciliation and resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” since it cuts Israel out of the dialogue, and that “organizations like Tigers Together are already leading campus efforts to engage both parties in dialogue.”
Tigers Together was a student-led organization advocating investment, rather than divestment, as the proper way to reach regional reconciliation. The aim was to “promote interdependence and development in Israel and Palestine by hiring civilians from both sides” in fields such as environment and healthcare. Tigers Together also began initiatives to improve opportunities in the West Bank and Gaza, such as the Good Water Neighbors initiative, which “increases awareness of the shared water problems in the region.”
As student groups held events and counter-events, the political climate on campus became polarized. “The atmosphere in 2015 was extremely contentious,” observed Rabbi Julie Roth, who has been Jewish Chaplain of the CJL since 2005. The CJL decided to host Resetting the Table, an organization that conducts constructive conversations about Israel between people of differing perspectives.
Unfortunately, Jewish students faced a surge in anti-semitism leading up to the referendum. According to Rabbi Roth, “classical tropes” disparaging of Jews tend to coincide with increases of anti-Israel rhetoric, and both occurred at Princeton. Among other attacks, a sculpture was defaced, blatantly anti-semitic messages proliferated on the anonymous message board app Yik Yak, and swastikas even appeared on campus. Rabbi Roth recalls no such incidents before 2015.
Despite these offenses, the referendum also provided Jewish students a chance to come together communally. Rabbi Roth recalls the high turnout for Shabbat dinner at the CJL at the time. “I remember the sensitivity that you could feel in the room; there was a rawness. But there was also respect, and a real sense that, at the end of the day, regardless of your political opinion, you have a place at the Shabbat table.”
The 2015 campus debate on divestment resulted in a nearly even split of opponents and supporters. Once voting day arrived, the referendum failed, but by a slim margin: 47.5 percent in favor, to 52.5 percent opposed. Only 102 votes were enough to swing the direction of the vote against divestment.
The current referendum, on the Monday USG ballot, draws heavily on the precedent set in 2015. By targeting a particular company and calling attention to the “prison industrial complex,” the current referendum seemingly attempts to set itself apart from the spirit of prior petitions. But it must be viewed merely as the second phase of a continuous divestment movement, which started with a full-throttle push in 2015.
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