PROVIDENCE – Twenty-four state attorneys general from the southern and Midwest U.S. on Monday sent a letter to Brown University urging the Ivy League institution’s fellows and trustees to reject a proposal to divest from companies that do business with Israel.
The letter, led by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, calls on the Corporation of Brown University at its upcoming October meeting to vote against the “Brown Divest Now” proposal, citing it is “unlawful” among other reasons and it’s the “latest part of an antisemitic pressure campaign” by Students for Justice in Palestine – a group the letter states that the U.S. Department of State designates as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
Back in 2020, Brown’s Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies, an advisory group of students, faculty, staff and alumni,
recommended divestment measures related to companies that benefit from Israeli occupation of Palestine. The report at the time came after nearly a year of discussion over a proposal – which received “overwhelming support” across the university campus – from a group of students with Brown Divest.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has since stirred various controversies on campus back in the spring, including students being
arrested in protests – with those charges since being
dropped. Brown also has since implemented
various measures to combat discrimination on campus.
Brown as part of its agreement with students to end the encampment of the College Green on campus, said in April it would form a committee to provide a recommendation on the divestment matter to be discussed by the university’s corporation in October.
Brown representatives declined Tuesday to comment to Providence Business News as the university awaits formal receipt of the letter from the attorneys general.
In
the seven-page letter, the attorneys general who signed the letter say the proposal if approved in October will have “immediate and profound legal consequences” for Brown, its employees and student body. Because, the state attorneys general say, that proposal may trigger applying laws in in close to 75% of states prohibiting them and their instrumentalities from contracting with, investing in or otherwise doing business with entities that discriminate against Israel, Israelis or those who do business with either.
The letter states at least 37 other states, including Rhode Island, currently have laws designed to “aggressively combat” the antisemitic boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Federal appeal courts have upheld those laws against legal challenges, the state attorneys general say.
The state attorneys general also say adopting this proposal may require their states and others to “terminate any existing relationships” with Brown and those associated with it. The states, the attorneys general say, may also divest from any university debt held by state pension plans and other investment vehicles and “otherwise refrain from engaging with Brown and those associated with it.”
In other words, the state attorneys general say that if Brown divests with companies – including General Dynamics Corp., which operates General Dynamics Electric Boat; Textron Inc.; and RTX Corp., which operates a facility in Portsmouth – doing business with Brown, the states may divest from Brown and associated entities.
The attorneys general who signed the letter represent Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
