Georgetown refuses to cut ties with Israel, stands up to pressure from students

Georgetown University has refused to cave to anti-Israel agitators, saying the Washington, D.C.-based institution will not divest or end partnerships with companies tied to Israel.  

The announcement from Georgetown University Interim President Robert Groves comes after an undergraduate student body referendum calling for the university to divest “from companies arming Israel and ending university partnerships with Israeli institutions” passed with 1,447 students voting in support and 685 students voting in opposition. Groves noted approximately 7,200 total undergraduate students are eligible to vote. 

Student referendums are not binding on the university and do not dictate university policies, Groves said, explaining referendums serve as a temperature check on the student body’s views. 

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“Georgetown will not implement this referendum, based on our institutional values and history and existing university resources and processes that address our investments,” Groves said in an email to the university community on Tuesday. 

He cited comments from former Georgetown University President John DeGioia, who resigned last year after more than two decades of service in the position to focus on recovery from a stroke.

In 2013, DeGioia said, “a boycott of Israeli universities undermines the academic freedom that is essential to the mission of the Academy.” The former university president added that “as an academic institution, it is Georgetown’s responsibility to deepen engagement and foster dialogue between scholars and societies to enhance the entire global academic community.” 

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“Our University remains opposed to any such boycott,” Groves said Tuesday. 

Groves cited the Socially Responsible Investing Policy (SRI Policy), which was adopted by Georgetown’s Board of Directors in 2017. It states, in part, that the university is committed “to exercising ethical management” of its endowment, which “shall not be used as a tool to promote a political agenda.” 

“I recognize there is a wide range of opinions on the conflict in the Middle East within our community,” Groves said. “We have numerous events to present different perspectives on the conflict. Guided by the University’s Policy on Speech and Expression, we will continue to protect the right of members of our community to freely express their views.”

“We are guided by our mission statement, which includes our belief that ‘serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding’,” Groves added. “This is a time to encourage such discourse.” 

The announcement comes as the Trump administration has cracked down on American colleges where anti-Israel agitators have taken over buildings and sections of campus and hurled anti-Semitic rhetoric in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. 

In March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an Indian doctorate student at Georgetown accused of spreading Hamas propaganda.