Sonya Merutka

In December 2023, approximately 500 faculty, staff, students, alumni and organizations affiliated with Princeton signed a BDS petition that spread hatred of Israel as well as promoted policies that would benefit terrorists and result in Israel's destruction.

The petition, which was part of the Princeton Divestment Campaign 2023, was published in response to Israel's war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Israel launched the war in the wake of the October 7, 2023, terror attacks, in which Hamas murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis, injured thousands, and kidnapped hundreds.

Many Palestinian civilians, including women and children, participated in and supported the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. Gazans who worked in the targeted Israeli communities gave intelligence to Hamas on which homes to strike.

The petition claimed [p. 1] that Israel was conducting a "genocidal military campaign" and implementing a "regime of apartheid."

The term “genocide” was coined in 1942 and first used at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals. Since Israel's founding in 1948, anti-Israel activists have accused Israel of "genocide" in an attempt to compare Jews to Nazis and delegitimize the creation of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.

In addition, the petition demanded [p. 2] that Israel "Ends the illegal siege on Gaza and immediately adheres to a permanent ceasefire."

The United Nations approved [pp. 39–41] the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza in 2011 as a security measure to stop Hamas from acquiring sophisticated rockets. Multiple flotillas have attempted to breach the blockade, with at least one initiating a violent confrontation with Israeli forces.

Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Israeli military discovered that Hamas went around the blockade by smuggling weaponry through tunnels under the Philadelphi corridor separating Gaza from Egypt.

The petition also advocated [p. 2] for "the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194."

The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

The petition further called [p. 1] Israeli operations against Hamas in Gaza over the previous 15 years as "indiscriminate bombing campaigns" that were part of Israel's alleged "war on the Palestinian people."

Israel commenced Operations Cast Lead (OCL), Pillar of Defense (OPD), Protective Edge (OPE), and Guardian of the Walls (OGW) in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, and 2021, respectively, in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians.

Finally, the petition demanded [p. 2] that Princeton "divest and dissociate its endowment of all direct and indirect holdings" in companies and institutions associated with Israel. It continued [pp. 2-3]: "Princeton University must refrain from any form of academic or cultural association with Israeli institutions and businesses" and "cultivate affiliations with Palestinian academic and cultural institutions directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as a...condition for...support."

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 251 and wounded thousands. War crimes included various systematic sexual crimes like gang rape and genital mutilation. Men and women were violated, even after being murdered. Victims who survived that day, including hostages, endured forms of humiliation and torture.

Gazans working in the targeted Israeli villages provided intelligence to Hamas on which families to kill and torture, including long-time employers. Many Palestinian civilians joined in and celebrated the attacks. Hamas livestreamed their crimes on social media, including to victims’ accounts for families to see. To learn more, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.