Debate over whether to divest from Israel dominates University of Minnesota regents meeting

Pro-Palestinian and Jewish student groups presented competing cases Friday for whether the University of Minnesota should divest from companies with ties to Israel and defense spending, setting regents up to make difficult decisions in the months to come.

Gracelyn McClure, treasurer of Students for Climate Justice, urged regents to pull their investments out of companies based in Israel or defense contractors based in the United States.

“No student should have to grapple with the fact the university they attend is invested in the suffering of their own people,” McClure said.

Charlie Maloney, the incoming president of Hillel, a Jewish student organization, encouraged the board to instead show “that investing in Israelis and Palestinians can be more potent than divesting.”

Like other colleges across the nation, the U has been facing pressure to re-examine its investments, protect free speech and ensure the safety of its students as protests rage over the war between Hamas and Israel. Protests, and how universities have handled them, have brought scrutiny to campuses across the country.

The last seven months have corresponded with what the U.S. Department of Education has described as an “alarming nationwide rise” in complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia since Oct. 7. On that day, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people and resulted in hundreds being taken hostage. Israel responded by invading the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian death toll is nearly 35,000, according to statistics released by the United Nations.

The U last week agreed to disclose some of its investments as part of an agreement to end a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the Twin Cities campus, an arrangement that also came with promises designed to ensure final exams and graduation ceremonies could happen without interruption.

The Board of Regents hasn’t yet decided how it will respond to the competing divestment requests. Board Chair Janie Mayeron told a packed room Friday that the meeting was meant “to serve as a platform for the regents to listen and to learn but no action will take place by us today.”

She added later: “We will continue to work with you and others as we try to work through these very important, complicated and volatile issues.”

The debate over divestment is happening while regents are working on the budget for next school year. They are considering a $5 billion proposal that would be balanced using tuition increases and budget cuts.

The day began with an open forum on the budget. It drew 18 people, 16 of whom spoke in favor of divestment. Some said they were Palestinian. Some said they were Jewish. Others said they didn’t have ties to the conflict but were supportive of the cause.

Among the speakers was Donia Abu, who is Palestinian and said 12 of her relatives have been killed in the conflict. In recent months, she said she has been forced to “witness photos of my family’s injuries and their charred bodies circulate on the internet” and doesn’t want her money supporting violence.

“It is in the university’s best interest and their obligation to divest from death,” she said.

The U released some details about its endowment investments earlier this week, making it one of the first colleges in the country to disclose information in response to protesters’ demands.

Many university donations are placed in an endowment to be invested; U leaders said students’ tuition dollars are rarely invested there. The returns on endowment investments are eventually transferred back to the U to cover a variety of programs, such as scholarships or faculty positions.

Older donations are held in a $2.27 billion endowment overseen by the U, about $5 million of which is in stocks and bonds tied to companies based in Israel or U.S. defense contractors. Newer donations are placed in a $3.6 billion endowment overseen by the University of Minnesota Foundation, a nonprofit that coordinates fundraising efforts for the U and says its business information is private.

The board later Friday heard brief, formal presentations from both Hillel and UMN Divest, a coalition of student groups that have been working together to organize pro-Palestinian protests.

Members of UMN Divest called for the board to immediately begin the divestment process and to commit to publishing information about its endowment investments each year.

Fae Hodges, a member of Students for a Democratic Society, argued that the investments in Israel and defense companies don’t align with the university’s commitments to promote diversity and equity.

“Every day more people are being murdered with impunity while this university sits by,” Hodges said.

The coalition’s presentation ended with cheers and a loud round of applause from the audience.

Maloney, with Hillel, presented next and urged regents to resist the divestment calls and instead focus on sending messages about the importance of empathy and understanding. He said some Jewish students have felt scared and alienated as anti-Israel rhetoric has escalated.

“We didn’t want to fight. We didn’t want to defend our identities for an audience,” Maloney said. “... But we are here to represent our community anyway.”

Hillel’s presentation ended with softer applause.

As Hillel students stood nearby during a break in the regents meeting, a person holding a Palestinian flag stood nearby yelling that they were on the wrong side of history — until someone told them to stop.