Smith College takes up Israel divestment proposal

NORTHAMPTON — Two years after Smith College’s Students for Justice in Palestine staged what they called the longest sit-in in the college’s history, a proposal urging the school to divest from weapons manufacturers tied to Israel was reviewed Thursday by the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility.

The proposal, titled “Ethical Investment Policy & Procedure Request,” was put forth by SJP and calls for the college to cut financial ties with weapons companies, military contractors and other corporations that aid in the assault on Gaza.

“When Smith maintains investments in weapons manufacturing, it implicates our entire community in systems that conflict with the principles the college publicly upholds,” SJP wrote in an email sent to the Gazette Thursday. “If Smith is truly the place it claims to be, it will choose the right side of history and pass this proposal.”

Carolyn McDaniel, a spokesperson for Smith, stated in an email to the Gazette that the college’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility will provide a “thorough review,” of the proposal, which she described as being the “first step in a structured process” that includes consideration by the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees and, ultimately, the full Board of Trustees.

McDaniel would not comment further on the proposal, however, she did state that she “was not aware” of any formal timeline for the college’s board to vote on the matter.

The protestors’ statement also specified that SPJ divest from investing in specific companies, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon (RTX), General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Hexcel, and Boeing, which it claims are all part of Smith’s financial portfolio. SPJ argued that these companies are responsible for “violence overseas” as well as “domestic surveillance technology used by ICE.”

SPJ argued that its proposal is meant to align the college’s financial investments with its historic track record for standing with human rights. It compared the proposed divestment from Israel to the college’s 1986 divestment from the South African apartheid.

“From its 1986 divestment from South African apartheid and its more recent commitment to a carbon neutral future and geothermal energy project, Smith has demonstrated capacity to make decisions aligned with its values. The current divestment proposal is a continuation of that work,” SJP wrote. “By choosing to divest from weapons manufacturer and invest in just alternatives, Smith has the opportunity to continue its commitment to ethical impact.”

When SJP’s divestment proposal was last brought before the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility in April 2024, the committee informed the petitioners that its members had determined that “the request did not meet the threshold for taking action and also found that the endowment’s investment in military contractors and weapons manufacturers is negligible and entirely indirect.”

In an indirect response to the college’s claim that its investments in military contractors and weapons manufacturers are “negligent and indirect,” SJP wrote that “any dime that goes to genocide is a dime that should be eliminated.”

“We do not accept claims that Smith’s investments are too minimal to be considered … we do not consider the range given by the school, stated to be anywhere from $0-$250,000, to be negligible at all,” the student protestors wrote. “More than just making a financial impact, this proposal is aimed at making a moral and ethical stance.”