As calls for divestment from Israel continue on campus, the University of Maine System Board of Trustees (BoT) has made its position clear—it will not divest, despite ongoing pressure from student activists. Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), the student organization leading the charge, has voiced strong opposition to the Board’s decision. With a planned rally on March 7 and continued advocacy at board meetings, JVP appears determined to keep the conversation going.
As the spring semester begins, talk of international policies and affairs have sprung up again. Among the conversations being held is one about the war between Israel and Palestine and whether the BoT should divest financially from Israel. The discussion has been led by JVP, who are standing firm on the need to divest and expressed humanitarian concerns adamantly to board members during public commentary at a November 2024 committee meeting.
“According to U.N. experts, as of this April, over 80% of schools have been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli assault on Gaza, with more than 5,479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors killed and many thousands more injured. As a future teacher and student here, it is important to see that due to the ongoing siege, the 2024 class of Gaza was unable to graduate and it is very likely that the class of 2025 will not be able to graduate either,” said Secondary Education Graduate Student Ashley Hebert at the November meeting.
Even so, the BoT have released a statement that they will not divest, implying that this was a decision that needed further discussion and may be in opposition to the Board’s objectives. They have opted to remain uninvolved for the time being for the sake of consistency and deeper consideration on the subject.
“There was consensus among our committee that to take a position on your demands would effectively shut down opportunities for conversation — including about the horrors of the conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere — and in doing so, undermine our educational mission,” said BoT Chair Trish Riley during a Dec. 17 online meeting.
JVP has not taken this decision lightly, and expressed frustration with the lack of BoT action.
“To us, this decision sends the message to the UMaine community that the supposed moral clarity that brought the university to divest from apartheid South Africa in 1982 is long dead. By refusing to even hold a vote on divestment, the trustees demonstrate that their primary concern is to avoid meaningful discourse on the subject,” said a JVP officer who wished to be unnamed.
Meanwhile, ceasefire and hostage release talks have finally come to fruition for both Palestine and Israel in a period of fragile peace. Hundreds of hostages have been released and Israel has paused its attack. However, activists and politicians alike are unsure how long the peace will last, and the JVP continues to advocate for divestment from Israel amid the uncertainty.
“While we are ecstatic to see so many Palestinians in Gaza return to their homes in the wake of the ceasefire, it by no means marks an end to the occupation and systemic violence carried out by the state of Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians remain incarcerated in inhumane conditions, often without trial,” said the JVP officer.
“Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Court of Justice have all indicated that the oppression maintained by the Israeli state is apartheid—this remains true, ceasefire or not. As long as Israel occupies Palestine and enforces apartheid, temporary reductions in violence are irrelevant to the discussion of divestment. Our university must stop supporting a state that commits human rights violations,” said the JVP officer.
When asked if the general student population supports their efforts, JVP said that the student population is mostly indifferent to — or leaning in support of — their work toward divestment from Israel.
“Except for the rare cases of a fellow student truly believing that certain human beings matter more than others because of where they were born, the vast majority of people understand on the face of it that what Israel is doing is wrong. A large part of our work comes down to helping people understand how our university perpetuates this state of affairs by holding investments in complicit corporations,” said the JVP officer.
They also stated that they would be holding a rally on the steps of Fogler Library at 1 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 7 to protest the BoT’s decision on the subject of divestment. In addition, they will continue to attend upcoming board meetings to advocate for their cause.
“We are pushing for more students and faculty to join us in fighting for divestment. Simply saying to oneself that apartheid is bad is not enough — words are just words. If we want things to change, we need to come together and demand change,” said the JVP officer.
