Dear friends of Northeastern Hillel,
After a long night, it’s a pleasure to share this update regarding the status of the referendum proposing that Northeastern University divest from 4 companies that do business with Israel. Tonight, the resolution on the referendum was put before the student senators of the Student Government Association. The proposed divestment referendum was defeated after several hours of thoughtful and passionate debate by student senators.
A simple majority was required to pass the resolution. 9 senators voted in favor of the resolution, 25 opposed it, and 14 abstained. Due to space constraints, the meeting itself was open only to senators and press.
The road that lead to tonight’s victory was a long one, with unprecedented collaborative efforts from the community.
The outcome of the vote is welcome news to our Jewish student leaders, who feel justifiably proud of all the hard work they have put into lobbying, advocacy, educational efforts, strategy sessions, late night communications, and social media efforts. I particularly wish to recognize the student senators who advocated for this resolution’s defeat tonight, including yielding time to other senators so that the points that were so effective in persuading their peers that this would be harmful for our campus community could be made.
Thanks is due to our organizational partners, both here in Boston and around the country, who have been so generous with their time and expertise. The professionals at the Anti-Defamation League, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Hasbara, Hillel Council of New England, Hillel International, IACT, Israeli American Council, Israel Campus Roundtable, Israeli Consulate, Israel on Campus Coalition, Jerusalem U, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Stand With Us, The Adam and Gila Milstein Foundation, The David Project, The Louis D. Brandeis Center, and the Zionist Organization of America (among others, whom I apologize in advance for forgetting) all put in many hours to advise, support, and work with us along the way.
Additionally, many thanks to YOU. The efforts of all of the students, alumni, faculty, family members, and concerned community members who took the time to write letters of support and encouragement made a huge difference.
Lastly, I hope you’ll indulge me as I take a minute to recognize the staff and my colleagues here at Hillel. Ariel Scheer Stein, our outstanding IACT Coordinator, offered countless hours of advising to our students and has navigated complex situations and difficult conversations with great diplomacy. I’ve been very grateful for her sensitivity, skillful coordination, and tireless efforts on our students behalf.
Our talented Jewish Student Life Director, Anna Meyers, also deserves special recognition for her devotion. Her efforts on behalf of Israel took her from initially advocating within our community, and then physically *to* Israel—returning just this morning from staffing an Alternative Spring Break for our students there, in partnership with CJP.
NU Hillel’s Board of Directors, particularly our dedicated Board Chair, Sheldon Goldman, offered tremendous support and advice throughout this process. These extraordinary lay leaders have been instrumental in helping to navigate the unexpected.
Anticipating the potential for additional developments, we are hosting a strategy session with some of the foremost experts of BDS on campus later this week. We will continue to keep you updated through our e-newsletter moving forward.
Northeastern Hillel, Jewish and pro-Israel partner organizations on and off-campus, and faculty and staff members will be collaborating closely with students to bring additional Israel programming to campus and to convene forums for constructive community discussions.
We’re very much looking forward to turning our community’s efforts towards the Season of our Freedom and Renewal, as we prepare for Passover in the weeks ahead!
With gratitude for SGA’s decision to begin a constructive dialogue of peace,
Arinne Braverman
Executive Director
Northeastern University Hillel
After a long night, it’s a pleasure to share this update regarding the status of the referendum proposing that Northeastern University divest from 4 companies that do business with Israel. Tonight, the resolution on the referendum was put before the student senators of the Student Government Association. The proposed divestment referendum was defeated after several hours of thoughtful and passionate debate by student senators.
A simple majority was required to pass the resolution. 9 senators voted in favor of the resolution, 25 opposed it, and 14 abstained. Due to space constraints, the meeting itself was open only to senators and press.
The road that lead to tonight’s victory was a long one, with unprecedented collaborative efforts from the community.
The outcome of the vote is welcome news to our Jewish student leaders, who feel justifiably proud of all the hard work they have put into lobbying, advocacy, educational efforts, strategy sessions, late night communications, and social media efforts. I particularly wish to recognize the student senators who advocated for this resolution’s defeat tonight, including yielding time to other senators so that the points that were so effective in persuading their peers that this would be harmful for our campus community could be made.
Thanks is due to our organizational partners, both here in Boston and around the country, who have been so generous with their time and expertise. The professionals at the Anti-Defamation League, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Hasbara, Hillel Council of New England, Hillel International, IACT, Israeli American Council, Israel Campus Roundtable, Israeli Consulate, Israel on Campus Coalition, Jerusalem U, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Stand With Us, The Adam and Gila Milstein Foundation, The David Project, The Louis D. Brandeis Center, and the Zionist Organization of America (among others, whom I apologize in advance for forgetting) all put in many hours to advise, support, and work with us along the way.
Additionally, many thanks to YOU. The efforts of all of the students, alumni, faculty, family members, and concerned community members who took the time to write letters of support and encouragement made a huge difference.
Lastly, I hope you’ll indulge me as I take a minute to recognize the staff and my colleagues here at Hillel. Ariel Scheer Stein, our outstanding IACT Coordinator, offered countless hours of advising to our students and has navigated complex situations and difficult conversations with great diplomacy. I’ve been very grateful for her sensitivity, skillful coordination, and tireless efforts on our students behalf.
Our talented Jewish Student Life Director, Anna Meyers, also deserves special recognition for her devotion. Her efforts on behalf of Israel took her from initially advocating within our community, and then physically *to* Israel—returning just this morning from staffing an Alternative Spring Break for our students there, in partnership with CJP.
NU Hillel’s Board of Directors, particularly our dedicated Board Chair, Sheldon Goldman, offered tremendous support and advice throughout this process. These extraordinary lay leaders have been instrumental in helping to navigate the unexpected.
Anticipating the potential for additional developments, we are hosting a strategy session with some of the foremost experts of BDS on campus later this week. We will continue to keep you updated through our e-newsletter moving forward.
Northeastern Hillel, Jewish and pro-Israel partner organizations on and off-campus, and faculty and staff members will be collaborating closely with students to bring additional Israel programming to campus and to convene forums for constructive community discussions.
We’re very much looking forward to turning our community’s efforts towards the Season of our Freedom and Renewal, as we prepare for Passover in the weeks ahead!
With gratitude for SGA’s decision to begin a constructive dialogue of peace,
Arinne Braverman
Executive Director
Northeastern University Hillel
