University of California Riverside. Photo: Patso21/Wikimedia Commons.

A recent University of California, Riverside (UCR) student government resolution pressing for a financial and academic boycott of Israel has left Jewish students on campus “deeply disappointed,” UCR Hillel told The Algemeiner on Thursday.

The resolution, SR-S22-004 UC Divestment from Apartheid, accused Israel of practicing “apartheid” and resolved to “recognize the human rights violations committed by the Israeli State and its military against Palestinians.”

“The Associated Students of UC Riverside (ASUCR) calls upon the UC Riverside … to divest from all corporations mentioned above that contribute to the continued violation of Palestinian human rights, and all future companies that support Israel,” said the motion, which also included a list of businesses such as 3M, Ford, Raytheon and Sabra Hummus’ parent company, Strauss Group.

It also demanded that all University of California campuses “remove ‘Israel’ as a location for any and all study abroad programs.”

A report in the student outlet The Highlander described the legislation as “a work in progress worked with students, faculty and administration,” and said it passed the ASUCR Senate on May 4 by a vote of 11-0, with 1 abstention.

On Friday, the UCR Hillel Student Board told The Algemeiner that it “remains committed to our core mission of enriching the lives of Jewish students and will continue to stand against antisemitic efforts to demonize Israel.”

“We are confident that this misguided vote does not represent the students, faculty, or administration of UC Riverside,” the Hillel board said. “We are deeply disappointed that ASUCR passed this problematic and simplistic resolution and that they did so while deliberately excluding Jewish student leaders from discussion.”

The Student Board also noted that BDS activity on college campuses is often linked to a rise in antisemitic incidents.

“We will not allow messages of hate to tear apart our campus community or isolate Jewish students who identify with Israel,” it continued. “We call on our campus community to reject hate and instead engage respectful dialogue — even about sensitive topics including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

ASUCR previously passed a resolution based on the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement in 2014 by just one vote, 8-7. The recent measure bemoaned that while a previous student government resolution had pledged to boycott the the Israeli-made Sabra Hummus, “no genuine action was taken to prevent its supply on campus.”

University of California-Riverside did not respond to an Algemeiner request for comment.