Jewish students and organizations in and around Ohio State fear an increase in antisemitism after the Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution that would ask Ohio State to divest from two companies doing business in Israel Wednesday. Credit: Jessica Langer | Campus LTV Producer
Some Jewish students and organizations at Ohio State fear an increase in antisemitism after the Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution that would ask Ohio State to divest from two companies doing business in Israel Wednesday.
Jewish students expressed concerns about the resolution in a March 30 open forum. The resolution stated the two companies in question, Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, contribute to human rights violations against Palestinians.
The resolution stated Hewlett Packard Enterprise has provided technology used by the Israeli military “which facilitate discrimination against Palestinians, restrict their freedom of movement, and limit their access to education, employment, and medical care.”
The resolution also stated Caterpillar Inc. provides engineering tools and bulldozers used to expand settlements in Palestine, construct a separation wall in the West Bank and demolish Palestinian homes and refugee camps.
In a statement, Ohio State Hillel expressed its disappointment with USG’s approval of a resolution that “is not reflective of the campus community.” It also criticized the student government’s decision to vote on the resolution Wednesday before holding an open forum, where student voices could have been heard.
The resolution was not initially on the agenda, but USG’s General Assembly voted to act as the Steering Committee, which sets the agendas for the assembly, during the meeting, according to USG’s bylaws. Once the resolution was on the agenda, senators then passed the motion to put the vote on the resolution ahead of an open forum.
“USG took the unprecedented step of shutting down the normal process whereby student voices are heard before a resolution is presented, effectively silencing the hundreds of Jewish students who came out to speak against this antisemitic resolution,” Hillel stated.
Suhavi Salmon-Rekhi, a third-year in public health and USG secretary co-sponsoring the resolution, said the resolution’s sponsors had no malicious intent in regards to the timing with which the resolution was proposed. During the fall, the General Assembly experienced internal issues that prevented votes on many resolutions, and senators also procrastinated writing new ones, she said.
Senators received emails from the Jewish community about the fear of antisemitism on campus, Salmon-Rekhi said. They weighed the concern heavily but decided to move forward anyway.
“We knew that no matter which way, what was voted, somebody was going to be disappointed,” Salmon-Rekhi said.
Salmon-Rekhi said USG is looking to protect Jewish students but is unsure about specific solutions. She said the solution relies on students supporting their peers and help from the administration.
Elana Rubanenko, a first-year in marketing, said she wants those in support of the divestment resolution to consider its potential for increasing antisemitism and have ongoing, constructive conversations with the Jewish community.
“We are all minorities here, we are all part of communities that have faced a lot of pain and suffering and oppression over the years,” Rubanenko said.
The resolution then passed, one week after around 200 people assembled in the Performance Hall at the Ohio Union March 30 to testify both in support and opposition of it. It was not presented to the floor during that meeting, as over 50 students and Columbus community members spoke for more than three hours in a public forum until the Union closed at 11 p.m.
Rubanenko, who served as an alternate senator for the March 30 meeting, said when she first read the bill — before the meeting — she reached out to members of USG but did not receive a response. She said she felt “cheated” with how the resolution passed before the public had a chance to share their opinions at the second meeting Wednesday.
“I was personally, like, crying in my chair feeling a giant pit in my stomach out of legitimate fear that I wouldn’t be able to exist on campus freely and that my voice didn’t matter, and that the Jewish people didn’t have anyone that were representing them,” Rubanenko said.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions proposals can be a “central part” of anti-Israel movements on college campuses. Undergraduate student governments across the nation considered 17 Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions-inspired calls for divestment in 2020-21. Anti-Israel acts in the same year included vandalism and the stealing of Israeli flags from Hillels across several colleges — including University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Virginia Tech and the University of Wisconsin.
Robin Judd, an associate professor in the Department of History, said criticism of Israel is not equivalent to antisemitism. However, someone’s position on Israeli politics or Zionism may become antisemitic if Jewish people are held accountable for Israeli policies and actions or when antisemitic symbols become involved.
“If individuals demand that students or student organizations, simply because they identify as Jewish, take a position against Israel to participate in activities, then there we see a slippage [into], say, antisemitism,” Judd said. “Similarly, if we make an assumption that because someone is Jewish, that that person holds a certain position vis-à-vis Israel, that also is antisemitic.”
Judd said when people understand Jewish people and their experiences, the likelihood of them making antisemitic references decreases. Alliances among groups with different ideas and experiences can also help create a dialogue and help prevent antisemitism, she said.
In its statement, Hillel said this is not the first time the Jewish community has opposed a divestment resolution, but rather something it’s done for the past seven years.
Incoming USG President Andrew Pierce said in a statement “collaborative leadership is a priority for our administration,” and following the team’s inauguration Tuesday, they will work with campus partners to determine next steps.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that Ohio State is a safe environment for all students and has a campus where antisemitism is never accepted or promoted,” Pierce, a third-year in public policy analysis, said.
Ethan Wolf, a fourth-year in public management, leadership and policy and economics and an alternate senator for the meeting, said the way in which the resolution passed silenced the voices of those who gathered to speak.
“[USG] should be facilitating dialogue between both Palestinian and Jewish students,” Wolf said. “What occurred Wednesday was a shame because with such a conflict, the only way forward is through peaceful dialogue that breaks down barriers — not leaves an entire community feeling silenced, shut out of the room, damaged, unheard.”
University spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email safety is Ohio State’s No. 1 priority. He said the offices of Student Life and Diversity and Inclusion will work with USG to provide spaces for conversation and reconciliation. The Office of Institutional Equity is also collaborating with USG leadership to have information on antisemitism in anti-discrimination training.
