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Trinity College Rejects Divestment Proposal Pushed by Anti-Israel Activists
Pro-Hamas activists gather in Washington Square Park for a rally following a protest march held in response to an NYPD sweep of an anti-Israel encampment at New York University in Manhattan, May 3, 2024. Photo: Matthew Rodier/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Trinity College in Connecticut has rejected a proposal to adopt the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement — which aims to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination.
“Guided by its fiduciary responsibilities, the board of trustees has chosen not to change or revise Trinity College’s investment policies,” a statement issued by the school on Monday said. “We will continue with our primary objective of maintaining the endowment’s intergeneration equity to support current and future generations of students.”
It continued, “The long-term and practical challenges of divesting or utilizing the endowment to exert political influence would create too much risk for the institution and potentially compromise its ability to carry out its primary educational mission. The college’s faculty, staff, students, and future students depend upon a strong and growing endowment to support our critical operations.”
In its communication, the college pointed to three groups which demanded divestment from Israel or “disclosure” of the extent of its financial ties to Israel or companies with which it does business, including manufacturers of armaments. Those groups include the Palestine Solidarity Encampment at Trinity College, TrinDivests, and a faction within the college faculty which called on school officials to comply with the students’ demands.
It also noted that acceding to demands for divestment for the sake of “utilizing the endowment to exert political influence” would injure the college financially, stressing that doing so would “compromise our access to fund managers, in turn undermining the board’s ability to perform its fiduciary obligation.”
As The Algemeiner has previously reported, American universities are largely rejecting demands to divest from Israel and entities at all linked to the Jewish state, delivering further blows to the pro-Hamas protest movement, which students and faculty pushed with dozens of illegal demonstrations to coerce officials into enacting the policy.
As Trinity College did on Monday, Chapman University trustee Jim Burra cited in September a “fiduciary responsibility” to future students and faculty which ruled out divestment as a possibility, explaining that “it is important that we make financial decisions based on risk and return.” The prior month, the University of Minnesota pointed to the same reason while touching on the extent to which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict polarizes its campus community. However, the university did adopt a new policy for its investments, a so-called “position of neutrality” which, it says, will be a guardrail protecting university business from the caprices of political opinion.
“For the past several months, we have sought expert analysis and a variety of perspectives on how the university invests its Consolidated Endowment Fund,” University of Minnesota Board of Regents chair Janie Mayeron said in a statement at the time. “We have reviewed how this fund operates, how it supports affordable education for students, groundbreaking research, and community engagement, and the possible financial challenges of divestment … In the end, it is clear our community is divided on the topic. After careful consideration of all this input, we believe today’s action honors our fiduciary duty and the long term needs of the university.”
Several weeks earlier, Oberlin College’s Board of Trustees voted against divestment after reviewing a proposal submitted by “Students for a Free Palestine,” a spin-off of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which has been linked to Islamist terrorist organizations.
Colleges and universities will lose tens of billions of dollars collectively from their endowments if they capitulate to demands to divest from Israel , according to a report published in September by JLens, a Jewish investor network that is part of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Titled “The Impact of Israel Divestment on Equity Portfolios: Forecasting BDS’s Financial Toll on University Endowments,” the report presented the potential financial impact of universities adopting the BDS movement, which is widely condemned for being antisemitic.
The losses estimated by JLens are cataclysmic. Adopting BDS, it said, would incinerate $33.21 billion of future returns for the 100 largest university endowments over the next 10 years, with Harvard University losing $2.5 billion and the University of Texas losing $2.2 billion. Other schools would forfeit over $1 billion, including the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Princeton University. For others, such as the University of Michigan and Dartmouth College, the damages would total in the hundreds of millions.
“This groundbreaking report approached the morally problematic BDS movement from an entirely new direction — its negative impact on portfolio returns,” New York University adjunct professor Michael Lustig said in a statement extolling the report. “JLens has done a great job in quantifying the financial effects of implementing the suggestions of this pernicious movement, and importantly, they ‘show their work’ by providing full transparency into their methodology, and properly caveat the points where assumptions must necessarily be made. This report will prove to be an important tool in helping to fight noxious BDS advocacy.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Mike Johnson, Chuck Schumer Invite Israeli Hostages and Their Parents to Trump Speech to Congress
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson stands in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. Photo: Shawn Thew/Pool via REUTERS
US congressional leaders Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Johnson (R-LA) have invited some of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and their parents to attend President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
Former hostage Noa Argamani has reportedly accepted the invitation of Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, to attend Trump’s speech. Likewise, Orna Neutra and Ruby Chen, the parents of murdered hostages Omer Neutra and Itay Chen, will attend as guests of Schumer, the Senate’s minority leader.
Johnson said that he feels “honored” that Argamani will attend the US president’s joint address to Congress. The Speaker of the House lauded Argamani for displaying “incredible strength and courage” while being held captive by the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
In his statement, Schumer lamented the “vicious cruelty of Hamas,” saying he was inspired by the “perseverance” of both Neutra and Chen.
“I am honored that Noa Argamani will be joining us at President Trump’s joint address to Congress,” Johnson told the New York Post. “Despite experiencing the unimaginable in the hands of Hamas, Noa has demonstrated incredible strength and courage.”
Separately, a group of seven hostages saved from Hamas captivity — Eli Sharabi, Doron Steinbrecher, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Omer Shem Tov, and Iair Horn — are expected to visit Washington, DC to meet with Trump administration officials and thank the president for helping to secure their release. In addition, the former hostages are expected to detail their experiences while living in Gaza and push for the release of the remaining hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded Sharabi’s resilience and encouraged him to relay his story to Trump.
“I deeply appreciate the courageous way you are sharing your experience, and it is also important that you share it with President Trump,” Netanyahu said on Sunday. “Our goal is to bring all the hostages home – and we will not relent for a moment.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in the neighboring enclave. The conflict raged for nearly 16 months until both sides agreed to January’s ceasefire and hostage-release deal, the first phase of which lasted six weeks.
Negotiations are underway to possibly extend the ceasefire.
Netanyahu announced on Sunday that Israel would block all aid into Gaza after the Hamas terrorist group rejected a six-week extension of the current agreement. The proposal would mandate that Hamas release half of the remaining Israeli hostages who were kidnapped into Gaza during the beginning of the extension. The rest of the hostages would be released at the end of the extension, if Hamas and Israel can agree on a permanent ceasefire deal. Israel would retain the right to restart the war in Gaza if negotiations are unsuccessful by the 42-day mark.
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Israel Begins Leadership of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan speaks to the European Jewish Association symposium audience in the Conference Center of Hilton hotel in Krakow, Poland on Jan. 22, 2024. Photo: Dominika Zarzycka/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Israel this week assumed the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries dedicated to combating antisemitism and promoting Holocaust research and education.
Dani Dayan — chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s national memorial to the Holocaust in Jerusalem — will represent the Jewish state as chair of IHRA.
“We are at a crossroads of generations, and the responsibility of preserving the memory and sharing the stories of the Holocaust will soon rest solely on our shoulders. The voices of victims and survivors demand that we honor their legacy by standing firm against Holocaust denial, distortion, and hatred,” Dayan said in a statement. “In a world witnessing a dramatic rise in antisemitism and grappling with the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies, our obligation to historical truth has never been more critical.”
Israel’s presidency of IHRA began on Monday and will run through February 2026.
“The antisemitism that resulted in the Holocaust has not been eradicated from the world. On the contrary, over the past year and a half, we have witnessed it intensifying dramatically, targeting both the Jewish people and the Jewish state,” Israeli Foreign Minister Giden Sa’ar added in his own statement, referring to the historic surge in antisemitic incidents around the world since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel.
“The new antisemites attack Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself,” Sa’ar continued. “It is our duty not only to remember the Holocaust but also to ensure the existence of the Jewish state, which serves as the guarantee of Jewish continuity for generations to come, while also preserving and passing on the memory of the Holocaust to future generations.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Israel as the new president of IHRA.
“Today the United States warmly welcomes the start of Israel’s year-long presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which is committed to supporting accurate Holocaust commemoration, education, and research,” Rubio said in a press statement. “We also congratulate the United Kingdom on its completion of a highly successful presidency.”
Rubio added, “The United States will partner with Israel during its IHRA presidency to defend the memory and historical fact of the Holocaust and fight the toxic spread of Holocaust denial and distortion and all other forms of antisemitism.”
The top American diplomat warned of an aggressive US response to the ongoing rise in antisemitism.
“Holocaust distortion, a shocking form of antisemitism, has proliferated and the poison of antisemitism continues to spread,” Rubio said. “We see it in violent attacks on Jews, defacement of Holocaust memorials, and dangerous rhetoric in universities and international organizations. President Trump and I have made the United States’ position unmistakably clear: the United States will confront antisemitism with determination and resolve.”
Israel will be taking over IHRA’s presidency from the United Kingdom, which headed the organization for the past year with Lord Eric Pickles serving as chair.
“The aim was to bring out the best in the IHRA, engender confidence in difficult times, and, above all, strengthen the organization,” Pickles said at a handover ceremony in Jerusalem. “Those of us who attended the poignant 80th anniversary ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau in January know that we will never see the like again.”
Pickles added that “10 years from now, at the 90th anniversary, it is unlikely there will be Holocaust survivors to speak. We are now the custodians of their memory. We must remember and tell the truth.”
Recent Legislative Efforts Regarding the IHRA Antisemitism Definition
IHRA adopted a “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations. Dozens of US states have also formally adopted it through law or executive action.
In recent months, several additional measures have been taken to expand the definition’s usage.
Last month, for example, Australia’s 39 universities announced that the IHRA working definition of antisemitism would be used in assessing antisemitism on campus. The country has seen a string of antisemitic crimes which authorities suspect foreign actors of masterminding.
On Feb. 20, US Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Antisemitism Awareness Act to implement the definition in the US Department of Education.
“We cannot allow antisemitism to fester in our schools, on our college campuses, or anywhere in our society. This legislation would give the Department of Education the tools to hold students and institutions accountable,” Britt said at the time. “Any American educational institution authorizing, facilitating, or otherwise supporting pro-terrorism activities should lose every cent of federal funding and subsidization.”
On Feb. 26, the Missouri House of Representatives Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee heard the case for a bill to use the IHRA definition at the state’s schools.
Two weeks earlier, the Kansas House Committee on Education received a presentation on a bill to codify the definition for the state’s schools.
On Feb. 3, the Nebraska Legislature Education Committee conducted a hearing for a bill also seeking to implement the IHRA definition in schools.
In late January, state representatives and community members met at the New Jersey statehouse to speak out in support of a bill for the state to adopt the IHRA definition. The legislation’s primary sponsor, Assemblyman Gary Schaer, said that “today we have an opportunity to do something truly profound — pass bipartisan legislation that will protect a religious minority.”
To resolve two lawsuits, Harvard agreed to implement the IHRA definition and to release an annual report for the next five years documenting responses to violations of Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In January, Oklahoma State Rep. John Waldron, a Democrat elected in Tulsa, put forward legislation to use the IHRA definition in the state’s guide for employees assessing bigotry.
On Jan. 26, the student government of Rutgers University voted down a measure to embrace the definition.
Days earlier, Ireland announced its embrace of the IHRA definition, despite the Irish government’s harsh criticism of Israel and amid a surge of antisemitism in the country.
In December 2024, a group of 24 Israeli colleges announced plans to use the IHRA definition.
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Former Hamas Hostage Emily Damari Undergoes Hand Surgery for Injury Sustained During Oct. 7 Attack
Former hostage Emily Damari is reunited with her mother, on Jan. 19, 2025. Credit: Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit.
Former hostage Emily Damari underwent surgery in Israel last week for a hand injury inflicted upon her by Hamas terrorists when she was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, and in a chilling post on Instagram, she shared details about the inadequate medical care she received during her captivity.
The 28-year-old – who lost her two middle fingers while being taken captive during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks – said on Monday she takes pride in her disability and also shared photos from the surgical room at Sheba Medical Center’s Department of Hand Surgery, where she had her procedure this week. Remembering her time in captivity, she talked about being transported by Hamas to the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip for a different kind of “surgery.”
“‘Hi, I’m Dr. Hamas,’ that’s what the doctor at Shifa told me before the ‘surgery,’” Damari recalled. “Seventeen months have passed since then, and now the moment I’ve been waiting for has arrived — the real surgery, at Sheba Medical Center.”
“Today, after 17 months, my moment has arrived — to replace Shifa with Sheba and finally receive proper treatment,” she wrote. “I have come to terms with my injury, truly. I know there is still recovery ahead, but this time, I am surrounded by family and friends I love, and that’s what matters. I am proud of my scars, and with them, I will triumph.”
A British-Israeli dual citizen, Damari was one of three civilian hostages released from Hamas captivity in mid-January as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization. She was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Her two middle fingers had been shot off by Hamas-led terrorists during the Oct. 7 attacks and she was also shot in the leg. In her Instagram post on Monday, she talked about the procedure she had at the Shifa hospital in Gaza the same day as her abduction.
“I remember sitting in Shifa on October 7th, looking at a small window there, feeling my hand shattered and my leg shot from the bullet that hit Choocha, my beloved dog, the most precious thing I had for 11 years,” she added. “In all the chaos, I didn’t even have time to process it. After all, I was kidnapped to Gaza along with two good friends, my neighbor was murdered, I left my mother, my brother, his wife, and their daughters behind — who knew what would happen to them.”
“Then that moment came — they took me into the operating room, with a corpse in front of me,” she added. “I saw the blue sky, which should have been gray on such a day. I prayed to God to protect me. And then I woke up to Dr. Hamas informing me that I no longer had two fingers, and that the wound on my leg remained open with four stitches instead of sixteen.”
Damari concluded her Instagram by quoting a Hebrew Psalm which means in English: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” She also thanked the “incredible” doctors at Sheba Medical Center who treated her as well as the “amazing team of nurses.”
In a post on X, Damari shared a photo of herself after her recent hand surgery, showing off her two new fingers. In the caption, she again talked about “embracing” her scars, saying, “to me they represent freedom, hope, and strength.”
“I thank G-d, the IDF, and everyone who fought to give me my life back. Now let’s bring all the hostages home,” she said.
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