The Wayne State University Student Senate passed a resolution Thursday demanding the school’s board of governors divest from Israel. WSU is located in Detroit.
Sponsored by senators Zaynah Jadallah and Ridaa Khan, the resolution stated, “…we ask the Board of Governors to develop socially responsible criteria for our university’s investments to ensure that we are not complicit in war profiteering and investing in companies that knowingly contribute to or benefit from human rights violations in Palestine and around the world.”


The resolution advocated for the Board to enforce a similar Student Senate resolution from 2003 that demanded the university “immediately divest in (de-invest) our University from Israel”, citing the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion mission.
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Shortly after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s response, the WSU Student Senate issued a letter titled, “Standing With Our Palestinian Student Population.”
“As a student body, we strongly condemn the genocide of the Palestinian people by the Israeli apartheid government,” the letter read.
“We encourage our Warrior community to connect with many of our fantastic on-campus resources as they hear about these reoccurring tragic events. Please consider visiting Wayne State’s Office of
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the Office of Multicultural Student Engagement (OMSE), or the Dean of Students Office (DOSO). We look forward to growing together as a more unified, diverse, and inclusive campus community here at Wayne State University.”
The WSU Student Senate action is part of a broader anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
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According to the American Jewish Committee, “While many rank and file members of the movement sincerely want peace and are lured in by this human rights façade, BDS leadership in fact seeks nothing less than the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state.”
“The ending of Israeli control in the territories is but the first stage on the road to fulfilling the vision of the dismantling of Israel,” the committee quoted Omar Barghouti, co-founder and leader of the BDS movement, as saying.
In addition to advocating for BDS, Jadallah is also focusing on “adding halal menus across campus” and “adding bidets to campus restrooms”.