Two dozen state attorneys general have cautioned Brown University against divesting from Israel ahead of an October vote by the Board of Trustees, Bloomberg reported.
Specifically, the 24 state law enforcement officials, all from Republican-controlled states, have warned that “adopting that proposal may require our states—and others— to terminate any existing relationships with Brown and those associated with it, divest from any university debt held by state pension plans and other investment vehicles, and otherwise refrain from engaging with Brown,” according to the letter.
The divestment vote was compelled by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus earlier this year, when students established an encampment to protest the war between Israel and Hamas, marked by tens of thousands of Palestinian civilian casualties. Student protesters demanded that Brown divest from companies profiting from the war, among other requests. Brown officials agreed to hear a presentation on divestment and hold a vote on the matter at its October board meeting in exchange for students dismantling the encampment established on campus grounds.
Brown was one of multiple institutions that reached an agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters, but it went further than many others in agreeing to vote on a divestment plan.
