Friday morning, Harvard Law School’s Student Council passed R.-207-001, 12-4 with three abstentions. The resolution encourages the Harvard Management Company, the entity responsible for managing the university’s endowment and related financial assets, to “divest completely from weapons manufacturers, firms, academic programs, corporations, and all other institutions” supporting the alleged ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
This is another chapter of action on Harvard campus related to the crisis in Gaza, in which Israel continues its retaliatory campaign following Hamas’ October 7th attacks. Over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 70,000 injured in the past 174 days.
The Israeli military has been accused of numerous human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, manufacturing a famine, and firing on civilians seeking humanitarian aid. Israeli soldiers have also reportedly recorded themselves mocking Palestinians and destroying property in Gaza in social media posts.
R.-207-001 cited several past actions by the university, such as “selective divestment” from apartheid South Africa in 1986 and its issuance of an Anti-Genocide Policy regarding investment. The document also mentions various universities with student governments that have passed similar resolutions, including Columbia University, University of Michigan, Pomona College, and University of Virginia.
The statement is expected to be met with controversy, in light of the previous doxing and inaccurate media coverage of Harvard students associated with anti-Israel statements. Earlier in the week, the Council amended its bylaws to allow the vote to continue in secret to avoid targeting or harassment of voters.
Harvard Jewish Law Students Association released a statement denouncing the resolution as divisive and antisemitic. “We denounce a resolution singling out the only Jewish state – this student government does not represent us nor many of the hundreds we represent.”
A joint statement by various pro-Palestine campus groups, including Law Students for a Free Palestine and Harvard Graduate Students 4 Palestine, celebrated the resolution. Addressing the Harvard Management Company directly, they called on the institution to “honor our demand” to divest from institutions associated with the Israeli military.
Earlier this week, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the conflict over the course of Ramadan (which concludes on the evening of April 9). In the following three days, however, the major military operations in the region have continued, further obstructing the flow of aid into Gaza.