The ongoing controversy at Brown University over a potential upcoming vote to divest from companies tied to Israel exposes a growing trend: the weaponization of economic disruption against Israel and, by extension, its ally, the United States. At the heart of this issue lies a strategy aimed at destabilizing economic stability and prosperity by targeting university endowments — a crucial part of the venture capital ecosystem that fuels innovation and domestic economic growth.
This tactic, employed by groups like the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), seeks to pressure both Israel and the United States by urging divestment from companies perceived as ‘complicit’ in Israeli policies. While the rhetoric may be cloaked in calls for ‘justice,’ trustees should not be fooled: the underlying motives of the movement are discriminatory at best, and every such terrible decision could have real and devastating consequences on a number of different fronts.