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Amherst College Rejects Divestment Proposal, Setting Back Anti-Zionist Campus Movement
Illustrative: A projection is seen with a picture of US President Joe Biden along with text reading “Genocide Joe” on the wall of the George Washington University during a pro-Hamas protest on campus in Washington, DC, May 7, 2024. Photo: Probal Rashid via Reuters Connect
The board of trustees of Amherst College, a liberal arts institution in western Massachusetts, has rejected an anti-Zionist faction’s proposal for divestment from companies which sell arms to Israel, the school announced on Monday.
Guided by the fundamental principle of respecting the diversity of opinion in our community — and noting the practical challenges — the board has decided unanimously not to pursue the divestment actions requested in the faculty and [Amherst Associated Students] resolutions,” Amherst College president Michael Elliott, as well as the board of trustees chair and chair-elect Andrew Nussbaum and Chantal Kordula, respectively, said in a statement.
“To be very clear, the board’s position is neither an endorsement of Israel’s campaign in Gaza nor a statement in support of violence rather than peace,” they continued. “It is, instead, a carefully considered response to the demand that the institution adopt a defined position on global events that are of intense interest to many at Amherst — events subject to ongoing debate and disagreement whose outcome will be shaped not by our investment decisions but by the decisions of governments across the world.”
Amherst College’s rejection of divestment — a core tenet of the boycott, divestment, and and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel — delivers a blow to the anti-Zionist movement on its campus, blocking its aim of capturing the institution’s key policy making bodies. While protests there have not involved the kinds of illegal acts perpetrated at other colleges and universities, Jewish student leaders have expressed concern about the rhetoric and tactics used by anti-Israel protesters, which have included comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, calling on the college to make “investments” in Hamas, and harassing Jewish students.
In May, leaders of Amherst Hillel published an open letter in The Amherst Student saying that “dangerous” ideas have proliferated on campus. Antisemitic conspiracies of Jewish control have been posted by students on a popular social media application, the group explained, and the personal information of Jewish students has been leaked online. In one incident, a Jewish professor’s private letter arguing against divestment was leaked on social media despite Amherst faculty’s insisting on keeping deliberations about the issue private.
“While not all anti-Zionism is antisemitic, these cases highlight the worrying role of antisemitism when discussing opposition to Israel,” the group continued. “Many Zionist students have stopped expressing their views because of this antisemitism, resulting in a lack of productive discourse. On this campus, antisemitism silences the Zionist perspective so that the anti-Zionist voice thrives.”
Amherst College faculty have taken a leading role in promoting anti-Zionism on campus, writing letters in The Amherst Student and passing one of the divestment resolutions that the board of trustees ultimately rejected. Faculty first called for the measure in March in a missive which accused Israel of violating norms of “international law and human decency.” One of the professors who signed it, anthropology instructor Christopher Dole, later celebrated when the faculty senate voted for divestment.
“I’ve been at the college for 20 years, and this vote was an incredible, historic moment,” Dole told The Amherst Student. “And I think it was not possible without the amazing work of students. Tireless, relentless work of reaching out and organizing and coordinating with faculty. And I just couldn’t be happier.”
Other elite colleges and universities have rejected the BDS movement following an explosion of anti-Israel protests and riots which roiled schools across the US during the final weeks of the academic year. In May, Williams College rejected divestment in a report which said there is no “shared understanding” among scholars and experts, nor among its own community, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would make divesting from Israel as morally cogent as divesting from South Africa in the 1980s or, more recently, fossil fuels.
Days later, Harvard University announced that it will no longer take sides in polarizing political debates. The new university policy, described as “institutional neutrality,” was the final recommendation of a report issued by a faculty group which interim president Alan Garber convened to study whether Harvard “should use its official voice to address matters of social and political significance.” According to The Harvard Crimson, Garber, as well as the Harvard Corporation, embraced its conclusion.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Amherst College Rejects Divestment Proposal, Setting Back Anti-Zionist Campus Movement first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.