'Resolution for the Endorsement of Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions' falls short of winning majority.
By JPOST.COM STAFFCUNY Graduate Center(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The Doctoral Students' Council (DSC) at the City University of New York has shot down a resolution to endorse an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.The proposal, which also calls for the divestment from Israeli companies, failed to pass on Friday, with 31 students voting in favor – eight votes short of the required majority.Twenty-five DSC members opposed the measure, while 10 abstained. The council represents thousands of grad students across the CUNY school system and oversees policy-making at its Graduate School.In mid September, following a heated debate between those who backed the resolution and opponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, the student group decided to postpone the vote.Dubbed the 'Resolution for the Endorsement of Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions' – the measure calls for an end to the partnership between CUNY's Baruch College and Israel's College of Management Academic Studies. It lists Israel’s alleged violations of international law and restrictions on Palestinian academics as the reason for the boycott, along with its condemnation of support for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza this summer.It claims that “Israeli professors and students at Israeli universities who speak out against discriminatory or criminal policies against Palestinians are ostracized and ridiculed if not publicly shamed, or worse.”JTA contributed to this report.
