Image courtesy of Alexandra Orbuch
On March 27, following a contentious discussion, Princeton’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) voted to approve a Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)-aligned referendum brought forth by Eric Periman ‘23, president of the Princeton Committee on Palestine (PCP). The referendum sponsor must gather 500 signatures by Friday, April 1, in order for it to be put up for a campus-wide vote.
Both Periman and PCP have been embroiled in antisemitism controversies. PCP has hosted events that have garnered the condemnation of Princeton’s Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity and Princeton’s Center for Jewish Life (CJL). Most recently, PCP hosted antisemite Lamis Deek and held a protest of the CJL. Periman has suggested that Princeton’s Jewish community is responsible for alleged human rights violations in the Middle East.
The referendum calls on Princeton to “immediately halt usage of all Caterpillar [construction] machinery in any and all ongoing University construction projects” and “prohibit Caterpillar machinery from being used in any and all future campus construction projects.” It alleges that Caterpillar’s products are involved in “atrocities” such as the “demolition of Palestinian homes, the murder of Palestinians and other innocent people” and creating machinery used for “violent, inhumane, and despicable purposes.”
The referendum aligns itself with the national Boycott, Divestment (BDS) movement. The referendum’s Ballot Question portion explains the boycott of Caterpillar as “one of the only targeted construction companies in the national Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.” BDS seeks the destruction of the State of Israel and is widely considered antisemitic in its means and ends. BDS campaigns have also been documented to correlate with antisemitic attacks.
The referendum alleges international law violations by Israel. These allegations have been challenged by governments across the world, including the American government.
During the Senate meeting, USG Treasurer Adam Hoffman ‘23 challenged the referendum’s constitutionality. The USG constitution requires that the ballot question “clearly describes” the resolution. Hoffman argued that the referendum does not include mention of the organized BDS movement in the resolution even as it explicitly aligns itself with the movement in its Ballot Question. “This referendum tries to sneak in BDS,” he said, explaining that “the referendum ties this question to the national BDS organization in the body of its text, but fails to name BDS in the resolution itself.” Hoffman urged fellow members to vote “no.” Hoffman is a former Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Tory.
Periman accused Hoffman of “pretending” this is a BDS resolution, retorting that “there is nowhere” that says “we are voting on…BDS.” The Ballot Question explicitly names BDS in its explanation section.
Several USG members expressed uneasiness over the likely uptick of antisemitic attacks as a result of the referendum. Class Senator Ned Dockery ‘25 said that “it is important to consider [antisemitic attacks] as a direct effect of passing this referendum,” and asked to include language condemning antisemitism in the resolution. Periman declined the suggestion.
U-Councilor Carlisle Imperial ‘25 implored his fellow voting members to consider the potential effects of such a referendum. “Our vote carries a moral connotation,” he said. Undergraduate Student Life Committee (USLC) Chair Avi Attar ‘25 highlighted “the reasonable expectation of…an uptick in antisemitic attacks” as a reason to oppose the resolution.
In 2015, the USG considered a similar BDS referendum, and the University recorded a marked rise in antisemitic sentiments and activity on Princeton’s campus. Antisemitic attacks included “swastikas, attacks on social media and in the Prince, and hacks to personal and organizational email accounts,” according to Rabbi Julie Roth, a Princeton University Jewish Chaplain and executive director of the CJL. In an email to the Tory, Roth wrote that “I reported 12 cases of antisemitism on campus in the course of two months, directly overlapping with the USG anti-Israel BDS referendum campaign,” compared to “no cases of antisemitism in the previous 10 years.”
In anticipation of the vote, Rabbi Eitan Webb, a Jewish Chaplain at Princeton University and Director of the Princeton University Scharf Family Chabad House, published a statement expressing concern over the referendum. “Earlier this week, I learned of a possible BDS campaign on campus,” he wrote. “The BDS movement, particularly as it has been promoted on campus, has intimidated and demeaned Jewish students…. The BDS movement is inextricably linked to rising levels of global antisemitism.” Webb noted that BDS would affect the Jewish student experience at Princeton.
In May 2021, the Tory reported on two antisemitic attacks on Princeton’s campus.
Periman declined suggestions from Sustainability Committee Chair representative Andrew Zucker ‘25 that BDS is linked to antisemitism. “There is not a clear consensus about [anti-Israel controversy] serving…as some vehicle or institutor of antisemitism,” Periman claimed.
USG Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair Braiden Aaronson ‘25 insisted that he would vote yes on the referendum if he were a voting member of USG. The referendum “does describe [its] direct effects,” while acceding to the reality of “the very real concern about the safety and well being of the Jewish community on campus with regard to referenda of these types.”
Campus and Community Affairs Chair Isabella Shutt ‘24 also spoke in favor of the referendum. She questioned the precedent USG would set if “we always have to worry about people being offended.” She lauded Periman for being “brave enough” to propose this referendum in light of forces working against him.
USG Vice President Hannah Kapoor ‘23 both facilitated the conversation and added her own commentary on the vote. Kapoor dismissed concerns over antisemitism, and instead advised that the USG take a “neutral” stance. She stated that the system is “flawed.”
After over two hours of discussion, the referendum passed. Twelve members voted yes, five voted no, and five abstentions.
Following the vote, Hoffman motioned for a “frivolous” vote, arguing that the University administration would not agree to the referendum given President Chris Eisgruber’s past statements and the legal issues related to a political boycott. President Eisrguber has publicly opposed the BDS movement. The state of New Jersey adopted anti-BDS laws in 2016, and Caterpillar is protected by anti-boycott requirements under U.S. law.
The frivolous motion, which requires a 5/6 majority to pass, failed by a vote of five in favor, ten abstaining, and five against.
The referendum language review vote passed with twelve yes votes: USG President Mayu Takeuchi ’23, USG Vice President Hannah Kapoor ’23; Academic Chair Austin Davis ’23; Social Committee Chair Madison Linton ’24; Campus and Community Affairs (CCA) Chair Isabella Shutt ’24; U-Council Chair Riley Martinez ’23; U-Councilor Stephen Daniels ’24; U-Councilor Vian Wagatsuma ’23; Class Senator Mariam Latif ’24; Class Senator Walker Penfield ’25; Class Senator Kanishkh Kanodia ’23; Class Senator Sean Bradley ’24.
Treasurer Adam Hoffman ’23, Sustainability Committee member Andrew Zucker ‘25 (representing Committee Chair Audrey Zhang ‘25), U-Councilor Carlisle Imperial ‘25, U-Councilor Alen Palic ’23, and U-Councilor Eric Sklanka ’23 voted no on the referendum language review vote. USLC Chair Avi Attar ’25 and Class Senator Ned Dockery ’25 abstained, along with four other members who were not in attendance: U-Councilor U-Councilor Mohamed Jishi ’24; Anna Sivaraj ’23; U-Councilor Jiwon Yun ’22; and Class Senator Gisell Curbelo ’23.
The frivolous vote failed. Hoffman, Zucker, Linton, and Imperial voted yes to the motion. Shutt, Dockery, Wagatsuma, Kanoodia, and Latif voted no to the motion. Takeuchi, Kapoor, Attar, Davis, Bradley Martinez, Palic, Penfield, and Sklankaand abstained, while Jishi, Sivaraj, and Yun were not in attendance.
With the Senate vote confirming the language of the referendum, the sponsors of the referendum now have until Friday, April 1, to gather the requisite 526 signatures. A source revealed that the resolution’s sponsors began collecting signatures before the vote took place, a violation of election procedures.
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