Marc Redfield

Supporting BDS

In April 2019, Redfield signed a faculty letter condemning the Brown University (Brown)President Christina Paxson’s opposition to a divestment bill proposed by the group, Brown Divest. 

In 2019, Brown Divest proposed and voted on a referendum for the university to divest from Israeli companies. In response, President Paxson wrote a letter to the university opposing the referendum. In her letter, Paxson wrote: “I am opposed to divestment from companies that conduct business in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Brown’s endowment is not a political instrument to be used to express views on complex social and political issues.”

The faculty letter, signed by Redfield, condemned Paxson’s letter and praised “a student referendum that called on the University to ‘divest all stocks, funds, endowment and other monetary instruments from companies complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine.’”

The letter went on to state that “Through the referendum vote, many students have made clear their view that the Israeli government’s policies towards Palestinians are diametrically opposed to Brown University’s self-proclaimed values, enshrined in its strategic plan.”

In March 2015, Redfield signed an open letter calling for the adoption of BDS by the MLA. 

The open letter was addressed to the Modern Language Association (MLA), “calling on the association to pass a resolution endorsing the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.”

Social Media and Weblinks

University Website: https://vivo.brown.edu/display/mredfiel