Boston University rejects BDS petitions, will consider no more

The trustees of Boston University rejected two petitions for the institution to divest from Israel yesterday (Tuesday), and University President Mellisa L. Gilliam said that they would not be considering any more such petitions, according to BU today.

Since October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza and elsewhere, anti-Israel protestors have attacked Israeli defense policy and US support for the same. These efforts to change direction were also aimed at universities themselves, with students and student groups submitting petitions to their schools to divest financially from Israel.

A number of such petitions were submitted to the heads of Boston University, asking that BU divest "from any funds that might be related to the war, to humanitarian crises, to human rights violations, or to military weapons contractors helping arm Israel."

BU's Board of Trustees' executive board considered - and rejected - two such petitions in a vote conducted yesterday.

BU President Mellisa L. Gilliam said that these votes should bring finality to the matter and that no more petitions would be considered by the university's management.

“The endowment is no longer the vehicle for political debate," she said. "Nevertheless, I will continue to seek ways that members of our community can engage with each other on political issues of our day, including the conflict in the Middle East, with tolerance and respect for one another,” Gilliam said. “Our traditions of free speech and academic freedom are critical to who we are as an institution, and so is our tradition of finding common ground to engage difficult topics while respecting the dignity of every individual.”

The Trump administration has promised to crack down on universities which did not do enough to protect Jewish students during the height of the anti-Israel protests over Gaza, when they were subject to vandalism, abuse, and threats.