Brown’s Community Council recommends discussion on divestment from Israel, dropping sit-in charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Brown University Community Council passed two motions Thursday dealing with the university’s relationship to Israel.

The council, which advises President Christina Paxson, voted 17-to-13 to recommend a discussion on divestment from Israel at the next Brown Corporation meeting.

In a 17-to-9 vote the council also recommended the university drop charges against students who took part in a sit-in calling for divestment in December 2023.

An encampment protest calling for divestment entered its second day during the vote.

The Brown Divest Coalition released a statement after the vote, which said it showed the community’s “support for both demands.”

“The two votes by the BUCC are landmark wins for the divestment movement at Brown and for the fight to end Brown University’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” the statement concluded. “We call on President Christina Paxson to honor the BUCC’s recommendations to completion by advancing divestment and dropping the charges.”