We Believe in Israel (WBII) views with deep concern the recent referendum at Yale University, where students voted in favour of divestment from companies supplying arms to Israel. This campaign, spearheaded by the pro-Palestinian Sumud Coalition, is yet another example of academia’s tendency to single out Israel for unwarranted and disproportionate condemnation, ignoring the broader complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and global security.
The referendum’s demands included divesting from military suppliers and reallocating funds to Palestinian academic initiatives. Such measures, while cloaked in the language of ethical investment, are far from balanced. Instead, they reveal a persistent fixation on demonising Israel, the region’s sole liberal democracy, while turning a blind eye to the regimes and terrorist organisations that threaten peace and stability in the Middle East.
That the referendum passed with significant margins is a stark reminder of the hostile environment Israel faces within academia. These results reflect a one-sided narrative that reduces a complex geopolitical conflict to a crude dichotomy of victim and villain. Worse still, this is not activism for peace—it is activism for blame, targeting Israel while ignoring the oppressive and violent actions of Hamas, Hezbollah, and their backers.
The response from Yale Friends of Israel, emphasising the importance of democracy and the protection of Israel as an ally, strikes the right tone. Israel’s right to defend itself is non-negotiable, particularly when it faces existential threats from groups committed to its destruction. The companies targeted in this referendum play a vital role in ensuring the safety of democratic nations, including the United States and Israel, from those who seek to annihilate them.
What makes this referendum particularly egregious is its timing. It comes in the wake of increasingly hostile activism on university campuses, where legitimate criticism of Israel has been replaced by campaigns to isolate and vilify the Jewish state. Earlier this year, Yale saw pro-Palestinian protests culminate in the arrest of dozens of students during a three-day sit-in, underscoring the confrontational and often intolerant approach taken by such movements.
This hostility is not merely political; it is moral posturing of the worst kind. To single out Israel, while ignoring the human rights abuses, warmongering, and repression perpetrated by other states and actors, reveals the blatant hypocrisy at the heart of this campaign. Where is the outrage for the countless victims of violence and oppression elsewhere? Why is Israel uniquely chosen as a lightning rod for condemnation?
WBII calls on Yale University to reject the recommendations of this referendum outright. Universities should be places of open inquiry and intellectual honesty, not venues for campaigns that distort reality and undermine balanced debate. Any investment policy claiming to be “ethical” must consider the realities of global security and the necessity of defending democratic nations from existential threats.
It is imperative that academic institutions resist these pressure campaigns, which serve only to deepen divisions and fuel hostility. Instead, we must encourage a more nuanced and fair conversation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—one that recognises the legitimate aspirations and challenges of both sides.
Yale’s administration now has an opportunity to show leadership by rejecting this one-sided and ill-conceived proposal. WBII stands resolute in its support for Israel and its right to security, peace, and recognition. It is time for academia to confront its own biases and restore fairness to a debate that has long been skewed by ideology and prejudice.
