The student government of the University of California at Riverside has overwhelmingly rescinded a decision to divest from Israel following an appeal from pro-Israel activists.
The Associated Student Government’s Student Senate on Wednesday voted 10-2 to cancel the March 6 resolution that called on the school to withdraw funds from companies that did business with the Jewish state.
The Students for Justice in Palestine organization had presented arguments that convinced the Student Senate to originally pass the disinvestment decision.
“Their presentation was full of wild accusations, libelous, and since nobody got a chance to really answer them, the senators voted without really realizing what they were voting on,” Philippe Assouline, a research associate for the pro-Israel organization StandWithUs, told the Campus Reform website.
Activists supporting the Palestinians told the pro-Palestinian website Electronic Intifada that they planned to appeal the vote.
“We’re going to make sure it stays in the senate and if it is amended, that the language doesn’t change to the point that we no longer recognize our own divestment,” Amal Ali, a Palestinian activist, was quoted as saying.