By Candice Spector
Health Editor
In the Stamp Colony Ballroom at Maryland, the Student Government Association’s Speaker of the Legislature Jonathan Allen prompted into the microphone Wednesday to a room packed with nearly 400 emotionally charged students, faculty and staff, “Raise your hand if this is your first time coming to an SGA meeting.”
The room immediately became a sea of raised hands. It was no secret why everyone showed up to this particular meeting.
The University of Maryland was set to vote on a resolution that would allow it to boycott or divest from companies that profit from Israel’s controversial occupation of disputed lands that separate Palestine and Israel – and students were ready to defend their positions on the matter.
For 70 years, Israel and Palestine have shared a volatile relationship as neighboring territories in the Middle East and, as such, have committed many atrocities against one another.
Over the last few years, Israel has been expanding settlements into the disputed territories, and in doing so Israeli tactics have both sparked outrage and gained support from countries around the world, adding more complexity to the already-complex conflict.
The legislation, which is titled the “Boycott, Divest, and Sanction” bill is part of a movement sweeping universities across the country as an attempt to put international pressure on Israel to change its policies – calling on institutions to take a monetary stance against what some consider to be human rights violations in the region.
Companies like Hewlett Packard, Northrup Grumman and General Electric are among those mentioned in the BDS bill that reportedly profit from the Israeli occupation. But it is uncertain if the University has business dealings with these companies because that information is private.
Pro-Palestine advocates on campus pushed to introduce the BDS bill to Maryland’s SGA because they believed the University should take a stand against human rights violations.
But pro-Israel proponents pushed back, saying the resolution forces the school to choose a side in an international conflict that does not directly concern its students.
BigTen schools like Northwestern University and University of Michigan are among those that have approved the legislation or similar resolutions, but Maryland did not follow suit.
The bill died before reaching the floor after the SGA Student Affairs Committee presented its rejection of the legislation in a 1-21 vote with three abstentions. A movement to overturn the ruling was also voted down 23-13 with one abstention.
Prior to this ruling, more than 60 students spoke before the SGA either expressing concerns or praises toward the resolution.
And some students who were not allowed into the room after it reached capacity sat outside and watched the meeting live on Facebook, opting to have their own virtual debates in the comments section, writing things like, “The Jewish people must stand strong in the face of anti-Semitism,” and “Zionist Jews in the USA controlling America.”
The debate inside the room lasted for two hours, with each student allotted two minutes to speak – some speakers on the verge of tears and others visibly angered on both sides of the aisle.
But it was apparent that the 45 students who spoke in opposition of the bill outnumbered the 16 who pleaded with the SGA to approve the legislation.
This disparity is representative of the significant Jewish population at Maryland, where students identifying with the religion make up 20 percent of undergraduates, according to statistics on Maryland’s Hillel Center for Jewish Life website – explaining why a bill that affects Israel, the only recognized Jewish State, would warrant such an uprising of concern here.
Anti-BDS advocates took to the podium sharing stories of oppression in Israel at the hands of the Palestinians, claiming Israelis, too, have suffered from the conflict, and should not be held to a “double standard” of not retaliating when provoked.
Sophomore government and politics major, Tamara Soleymani, fought back tears as she told her family’s story, recounting that her parents were forced to flee to Israel from their homes in Iran in the 1970s because they were “persecuted against and terrorized for being Jewish.”
“Israel quite literally saved my family’s lives,” Soleymani said. “[It] opened its arms wide for my family and accepted them for who they are. It gave them a place to call home.”
She continued, urging the SGA to reject the BDS proposal, saying, “This bill fails to reflect the complexities of the Middle East and the stories of people like my family and their part in the history of the conflict.”
Soleymani insisted that the struggles of people like her family members, “whose voices might not be as loud as the opposition,” are “just as real and just as important.”
President of the Students for Justice in Palestine group at Maryland, Miranda Mlilo, took to the stand to counter the opposition’s stories of grief, and said in part to SGA members, “I know that you’re going to be hearing a lot of emotional testimonies today, but I encourage all of you to listen for facts, which our side will provide.”
She continued, pleading, “There can be no hope for peace until there is justice and no other treaty will resolve anything until the Palestinian people are free. Vote your conscience. Do what’s right in this situation and let’s not allow history to continue to make the same mistakes. Let’s not look back on this moment, where you have a voice, with regret.”
Junior cell biology and genetics double major and a member of SJP, Laila Abujuma, seconded Mlilo’s sentiments and spoke about the oppression she has faced “just standing up for basic human rights” on campus.
Abujuma said there are websites that exist solely to tarnish her and other’s reputations because of their positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and ended her remarks to the SGA, saying, “I really hope you’ll consider passing this bill for humanity.”
Erica Fuentes, senior government and politics major and president of the department of treasury for Maryland’s PLUMAS group, which stands for Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society, then compared the Palestinian struggle with that of the Latino community, expressing solidarity with Palestine.
“When you show us the struggle of the Palestinian people, it’s like someone is holding up a bloody mirror right to our faces, and in that mirror we see the pain and suffering that accompanies ‘la lucha’ for the right to self-determination,” Fuentes said. “[It’s] a struggle against colonization, against genocide, a struggle through deadly, unnatural and artificially drawn borders…[And] against US-funded – and if this University continues to support those companies – UMD-funded, state-sanctioned violence, terror, and human rights violations.”
Fuentes continued, saying, “Instead of sitting around in our classrooms discussing the Palestinian struggle, we must act and help bring about true justice.”
But pro-Israel defenders tried to foil the claim that this bill would be the only effective solution and asserted that the resolution would only promote more division between the two groups on campus.
Junior David Stein, co-president of the Jewish Athletics group on campus, urged the SGA to “Please vote no to hate. Vote no to division. Stand with us to promote a healthy dialogue at the University of Maryland for many years to come.”
Like Stein, many pro-Israel students who spoke at the meeting claimed the legislation barred hopes of creating a safe and bi-partisan space for open dialogue on campus because adopting the resolution “puts the blame on Israel and Israel only for a lack of peace” in the region, as senior English major Jamie Lescht put it to the SGA.
“Here at the University of Maryland, students are encouraged to pursue fearless ideas, and this begins with hearing a variety of perspectives,” Lescht said. “BDS does not approach the Israeli-Palestinian challenge with the same spirit. In fact, it violates it.”
Lescht explained “BDS makes the conversation one-sided and makes the voices of pro-Israel students feel threatened and unheard,” and asked the SGA to ensure every student “feels welcome to the conversation.”
Maryland Hillel commended its members’ activism in a statement to Unwind:
“Our extraordinary students showed up and spoke up. Their actions demonstrated Maryland Hillel’s vision to inspire students to become activists and leaders…[and] they refused to allow a small group of students to push through this resolution.”
Now that the divestment bill has been defeated, Maryland Hillel says it’s “delighted to once again return its full attention to promoting positivity, joy and richness of the collective Jewish tradition.”
But the fight is apparently not over for members of the opposing campus group, SJP, whose members were the driving force in introducing the BDS bill to Maryland’s student government.
Following the decision, members of SJP said they would “continue to fight moving forward” by educating students on the issue.
Mlilo took to Facebook on behalf of her organization, writing, “I am disappointed in this outcome, but I am hopeful for the future. Any BDS campaign, whether it passes or not, is a success because it brings to light the blatant human rights violations being committed against Palestinians on a daily basis.”
Mlilo continued, applauding members of SJP for their “eloquent, factual and well thought out” speeches during the hearing.
“We made our voices heard and we did not allow ourselves to be silenced, despite pressure and intimidation tactics,” she wrote. “This is an uphill battle, but we are fighting the good fight. History is on our side and so is justice.”
While the sentiments of each side remain strong and the future of this campus clash is uncertain, members of the SGA applauded the students who spoke for being respectful during each person’s remarks.
The SGA’s Director of Governmental Affairs, Mihir Khetarpal, said he hopes “everybody continues to come out to SGA meetings in the future.”
“Just as this issue is important for [them],” Khetarpal said. “There are issues that are important to everybody that we debate.”
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