Toledo students decline to vote on BDS measure
Council rules divestment violates constitution in debate before closed door meeting
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The University of Toledo student government declared that an Israel divestment resolution violated the group’s constitution and moved the measure off the agenda.
In a closed-door meeting Tuesday night, the Student Judicial Council ruled the resolution unconstitutional by a vote of 5-4 after hearing debate.
The resolution called on the university to divest from any companies that “provide direct support for and directly profit from Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.”
The companies named in the eight-page resolution, prepared by the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, were Cemex, General Electric, Hewett-Packard, Proctor and Gamble, and Rolls-Royce.
The council voted to have a closed-door debate on the proposal out of concern for student safety, the campus student newspaper, The Independent Collegian, reported Wednesday. Students and community members could view the session via livestream from two rooms in the building as well as on the university’s YouTube page.
Backers and opponents of the measure were given 10 minutes each to speak before the student government. One student justice, Christopher Miller, told the Independent Collegian that he found the resolution violated the section of the student government constitution dedicated to protecting against discrimination.
Students for Justice in Palestine told the Toledo Blade before the vote that it would propose a referendum to the student body on the issue of divestment no matter the outcome of the divestment proposal.
The Times of Israel Community.