Edited by: Fern Sidman
At Pratt Institute, a renowned Brooklyn-based arts college, a series of contentious votes recently unfolded within the faculty governing body. According to a report in the New York Post on Wednesday, the votes concerned proposals to boycott Israeli academic and cultural institutions—a part of the broader Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that seeks to isolate Israel from the international community of nations and ultimately destroy the one and only Jewish state.
The voting process was steeped in controversy from the outset, initially scheduled on the first full day of Passover, a significant Jewish holiday. The information provided in the Post report indicated that this timing drew sharp criticism and allegations of discrimination from the Brandeis Legal Center for Human Rights Under Law, a Jewish legal civil-rights advocacy group. The center argued that holding the vote during Passover would prevent observant Jewish professors from participating, the Post report added. Responding to these concerns, Pratt’s Academic Senate rescheduled the vote, allowing for wider participation.
The resolutions put forward were highly divisive. One called for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel and was narrowly defeated with a vote of 14 to 12. In a terrifying revelation, the report in the Post said that a similar resolution proposed that Pratt should sever all official interactions with Israeli entities, including events, activities, agreements, or projects involving Israel, its lobby groups, or its cultural institutions. This too was rejected by the same margin. The Post also reported that another measure, which suggested suspending Pratt’s partnership with Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Israel, also failed, receiving only 11 favorable votes.
However, the faculty council did pass one significant resolution related to the controversy, with a vote of 20 to 6. This resolution called for Pratt to ensure “full transparency regarding institutional investments in Israeli companies or companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine” and to prepare for potential divestment from these holdings if deemed necessary, the Post report said.
The reaction to the votes was mixed. Rory Lancman, senior counsel at the Brandeis Center and a former New York City councilman, applauded the rejection of the resolutions aimed at boycotting Israel. According to the Post report, he praised the efforts of Pratt’s Jewish community, stating, “Pratt’s Jewish students, faculty, and staff, many of whom are members of the Brandeis Center, deserve all the credit for standing up for their rights, and for what’s right, period, in defeating this anti-Semitic BDS resolution.”
Lancman criticized the BDS movement, labeling such resolutions as “anti-Semitic” and argued that they likely violate various anti-discrimination laws and regulations, as was affirmed in the Post report. This sentiment underscores the legal and ethical complexities surrounding the BDS movement within academic institutions in the U.S.
Amidst this contentious backdrop, Pratt’s Academic Senate issued a statement emphasizing the institution’s commitment to academic freedom and the importance of engaging in difficult conversations. “The world is struggling to hold space for and have such conversations; we want you all to know that we strive to live by what we say our core values are – academic freedom. We don’t have to agree with one another, but we do have to sit together and talk. And for that, we thank each one of you,” the Senate expressed, as was noted in the Post report.
The issue of BDS at Pratt coincides with a period of heightened activism and unrest on other campuses across the country, including Columbia University, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and New York University. These institutions have seen a range of disruptive activities, from vandalism to the establishment of encampments, as students and faculty express their hatred towards Israel and the entire Jewish nation.
