Members of GU F.R.E.E. protesting on campus. Photo: GU F.R.E.E./ Facebook.

A Georgetown University advisory board has rejected an anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) proposal issued in October by three student activists, on the grounds that “divestment would not be an effective tactic to end hostilities or promote a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

In a memo released on Thursday, the Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility (CISR), which issues recommendations to Georgetown’s Board of Directors, stated that it “supports the goal of a peaceful resolution that ensures the safety of both peoples and respects the dignity and human rights for all.” 

In addition to the October proposal — that the school divest from companies that “enable and profit from the violent Israeli occupation of Palestine” — at the end of January, the student coalition“Georgetown University Forming a Radically Ethical Endowment Coalition (GU F.R.E.E.)” demanded that GU disclose and halt its dealings with companies contributing to the “illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Nine companies were accused of being “knowingly and consistently” complicit in Israeli “human rights violations” against “indigenous” Palestinians.

Support for the BDS movement among faculty and students at Georgetown was one of several factors contributing to the placement of the Washington, DC-based university as 37th on The Algemeiner’s inaugural list of the “40 Worst Colleges for Jewish Students” in North America in 2016.