The Algemeiner
By Lea Speyer
June 6, 2016
The upcoming Portland State University (PSU) student government vote on Monday over divestment from companies doing business with the Israeli military is “divisive and ill-informed,” the school’s president warned in a statement on Thursday ahead of the vote.
President Wim Wiewel came out against the Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU) International Affairs Committee-sponsored resolution, which follows recommendations from the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to cut ties with Israeli companies that “have been found to profit from human rights violations against Palestinian civilians by the Israeli government.” The resolution — which was officially set for a vote following a May 23 debate — names four companies that “deny Palestinians basic civil rights:” HP, Motorola Solutions, Caterpillar and G4S.
Wiewel issued his statement in response to concerns raised by Hillel International President Eric Fingerhut. In a letter sent to Weiwel on Wednesday and obtained by The Algemeiner, Fingerhut expressed his deep concern for the increasingly hostile environment Jewish and pro-Israel students at PSU are facing. Alongside antisemitic acts at PSU – such as two separate instances of Nazi swastikas being carved on dormitories — Fingerhut warned the “atmosphere [at PSU] will likely be exacerbated by the introduction of the anti-Israel divestment resolution.”