Connect with us

RSS

Michigan State University Student Government Endorses Divestment From Israel

Michigan State University student Saba Saed speaks at a rally in Lansing, MI on Feb. 16, 2024, calling for Michigan voters to oppose the US’s handling of the conflict in Gaza. Photo: Andrew Roth via Reuters Connect.

The student government of Michigan State University (MSU) has passed a resolution calling on school officials to endorse the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel, becoming the latest such body to attack the Zionist component of Jewish identity and advocate policies which would undermine Israeli security.

“The Associated Students of Michigan State University shall release a statement … reaffirming support for divestment from weapons manufacturers, the state of Israel, and investments firms and banks investing in weapons manufacturers, including, but not limited to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Black Rock, and BNY Mellon,” the resolution, also known as “61-53,” said. “[We] shall continue to advocate for divestment during Board of Trustees meetings via liaison statements, meetings with Board members, meetings with administration, and meetings in academic governance.”

Formally launched in 2005, the BDS campaign opposes Zionism — a movement supporting the Jewish people’s right to self-determination — and rejects Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish nation-state. It seeks to isolate the country with economic, political, and cultural boycotts. Official guidelines issued for the campaign’s academic boycott state that “projects with all Israeli academic institutions should come to an end,” and delineate specific restrictions that its adherents should abide by — for instance, denying letters of recommendation to students applying to study abroad in Israel.

BDS has received renewed support amid Israel’s latest conflict with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which was responsible for the rape and murder of hundreds of Israeli civilians during its invasion of the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023. Following its endorsement by Associated Students, MSU’s Jewish Student Union denounced what it described as the attempted erasure of pro-Israel Jews on campus.

“Our communities are deeply disappointed that the Associated Students of Michigan State University continues to pass antisemitic and divisive resolutions — as well as biased and hurtful statements that call for divestment from Israel,” the group said in a statement which followed the vote. “The BDS movement is an inherently antisemitic movement that creates division and emboldens anti-Jewish sentiment on campus.”

It added, “We condemn the passage of Bill 61-53 and will continue to advocate against the BDS movement.”

Associated Students president Connor Le defended the resolution in a statement to MSU’s student newspaper, The State News, saying it responded to “the differing and diverse needs of the student body” and that “while the language of 61-53, may be viewed as offensive to some communities, others on campus found it important to bring this issue to the General Assembly, the Board of Trustees, and the overall MSU community.”

Michigan State University has formally rejected the BDS movement and any other which would exert “political influence” on the university’s investment portfolio and undermine its “focus on strong financial stewardship that allows us to advance our educational and outreach mission.”

When anti-Zionist students installed an encampment on campus property and vowed not to leave unless school officials adopted BDS, university president Kevin Guskiewicz confirmed divestment was not on the agenda.

“We have no direct investments in gun manufacturers, and we do not have direct or indirect investments in the three publicly traded civilian firearms manufacturers,” he said. “Further, the university does not own an Israeli-issued security bond. Given this context, and as the Board has previously indicated, the university will not be making any divestment changes.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Michigan State University Student Government Endorses Divestment From Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy

Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.

“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”

The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.

“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.

Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.

The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.

Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”

The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool

i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.

The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.

The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.

The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.

The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.

The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News