University of Washington, Seattle, will have to wait until at least November for its board of regents to vote on whether to form a committee to consider a proposal for its $5.5 billion consolidated endowment fund to divest from companies that do business in Israel.
The board put a halt to its Sept. 12 meeting before it could vote on whether to convene an Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing in response to a proposal to divest from companies.
In a joint statement on the university’s website, outgoing Board of Regents Chair David Zeeck and incoming Board of Regents Chair Blaine Tamaki said the meeting was adjourned “after disruptions made orderly conduct of the meeting impossible.”
“Speakers addressing labor issues and those calling for divestment from Israel had spoken without interruption, but when Jewish speakers opposed to divestment and concerned about antisemitism on campus began their comments, protestors repeatedly interrupted and shouted them down,” said Zeeck and Tamaki. “Despite repeated warnings to stop and clear the room, protesters continued their chants to shut down the meeting.”
The proposal from the United Front for Palestinian Liberation at the university calls for full divestment from companies in which the endowment invests both directly and indirectly. The group claims these companies “consistently, knowingly, and/or directly facilitate and enable human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law as part of Israel’s prolonged military occupations, apartheid and genocide in occupied Palestine.”
The proposal calls for divestment from what it terms as “weapons companies” including BAE Systems, Boeing, Caterpillar, Chevron, General Dynamics, General Electric Co., L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Motorola Solutions, Northrop Grumman, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Textron. The group is also calling for the university to divest from investment firms Arrowstreet Capital, Bain Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock and Madrona Venture Group, and all publicly traded Israel-based companies.
The proposal also names companies for divesture that it says have “direct relationships” with Israel, including Apple, Blackstone, McDonald’s, Microsoft and S&P Global.
The board at its Sept. 12 meeting was scheduled to vote on the formation of an Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing. That committee would advise the board on the “moral qualities of a particular investment,” according to board materials. University staff, potentially with the assistance of consultants, would advise the board on the financial consequences of the committee’s recommendations and the board would decide whether to divest, engage in shareholder activism or dismiss the proposal.
In their statement, Zeeck and Tamaki said the board “condemns these actions as antithetical to free dialogue and disrespectful of other UW community members. The board and the university will always prioritize safety and the free exchange of ideas and offered support to those who were shouted down and others who were scheduled to speak.”
“Attempts to intimidate members of the UW community or members of the public will not influence the board’s decision-making process. No further actions will be taken by the board until its next regularly scheduled meeting,” they said. The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13.
Representatives for the protestors could not be immediately reached for comment.
