Petition brings referendum on divestment issue to student vote

The Princeton Divests Coalition's petition to run a referendum to divest from companies that are "complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip"gained enough signatures to run the referendum before the undergraduate student body.

This referendum calls on the University to divest from companies that allegedly maintain the infrastructure of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank; facilitate Israel’s and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and facilitate state repression against Palestinians by Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian Authority security forces.

Undergraduate Student Governmentpresident Ella Cheng ’16 said that USGchief elections manager Grant Golub ’17 verified on Monday that the petition to run the referendum had garnered 229 valid signatures.

The referendum needed 200 valid signatures to run, Golub said.

Golub is a former staff writer and former copy editor for The Daily Princetonian.

Referendum signatures must be verified by USGbefore referenda are presented to the student body.

The group has stopped collecting signatures on the petition, as it already has enough,saidMohamed El-Dirany ’18, one of the students who worked on the referendum petition.The group began its effort to collect signatures on March 25.

“If the referendum passes, it’s a stance that the undergraduate student body takes that says, ‘We want the University to divest,’ ” he said.

Allegra Dobson ’18 said she didn't see the value in the referendum.

“I feel like Princeton as an institution shouldn’t support companies either way but that individual students should be encouraged to express their opinions,” Dobson said.

However, divestment efforts are counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution, Hannelora Everett ’17, president of Tigers for Israel, said.

“Tigers for Israel firmly opposes divestment,” she said. “Divestment is counterproductive, misleading and there is a better way forward to a two-state solution. ... The solution is building trust, not punitive measures."

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The notion that the University should be an apolitical actor in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is mistaken,Kelly Roache GS, a Wilson School student who is involved in Princeton Divests Coalition, said.

“People may say that it’s not the position of the University to be involved in political affairs and political activity,"she said. "I would disagree and say that the goal of the University is to educate students not just to be developed in their intellect but also in their hearts and in their morality.”

In the fall, over 300 students signed a counter-petition encouraging “investment in both Israeli and Palestinian society as the foundation for peace.”

A second counter-petition, spearheaded by the Center for Jewish Life, was published and signed by just over 100 individuals, most of whom were faculty members.

News editor Jacob Donnelly contributed reporting.

Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the types of companies from which the referendum aims to have the University divest. They are companies that are "complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip." The 'Prince' regrets the error.