The Associated Students of UC Irvine (ASUCI) Senate indefinitely tabled a resolution that would have called on the university to divest from “entities and institutions that support the genocide of Palestinians.”
If passed, the resolution would have required that the ASUCI disclose “in quarterly public reports, all companies and products from which purchases were made, ensuring transparency and accountability in avoiding companies complicit in the occupation of Palestine” and adopt a prohibited suppliers list as a governing document. The ASUCI would have issued a statement demanding “that the University of California Board of Regents and UC Irvine administration fully divest from all companies and entities complicit in the apartheid, genocide and occupation of the Palestinian people and all Arab lands.”
Nova Sari, a senior at UCI, told The Journal that it was “the first time in quite a few years” in which the student government didn’t pass a divestment resolution, which she said was the result of “errors” in the resolution. “The most fundamental error,” in Sari’s view, is that one of the ASUCI members who proposed the resolution admitted that they made up their own definition of it. The resolution defined Zionism “as the settler-colonial ideology that seeks to colonize all Palestinian lands by means of the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Palestinians.” Another ASUCI member asked if the student body, which is part of a taxpayer-funded institution, should be using the definition of Zionism that the State Department uses; one of the members who proposed the resolution replied that America and Israel shouldn’t be defining Zionism, only “people who are being killed define it,” according to Sari.
Rabbi Daniel Levine, senior Jewish educator at Orange County Hillel and a lecturer of the university’s Center for Jewish Studies, told The Journal that one of the more neutral members of the ASUCI Senate had asked for clarification about the definition after “student after student on the Jewish side were” objecting to the resolution’s definition of Zionism, “and that’s when the person said, ‘I don’t know where I got that definition from.’”
During public comment, Sari, who has a Muslim father and Jewish mother, asked for clarification on the academic boycott, pointing out that 25% of students at Israeli universities are Arabs and that UC Irvine has had a partnership in the past with the University of Haifa, where 30% of their student populace is Arab. Sari claimed that the members who proposed the bill “didn’t really address anything.”
Sari claimed that the resolution listed organizations that are not registered campus organizations, which is not allowed and that the resolution called for boycotting Zionist business in Irvine; according to Sari, an ASUCI member asked how anyone would be able to distinguish between a Zionist business and a Jewish business, as ASUCI has worked with various vendors who are Jewish. One of the members who co-authored the bill “basically said nothing,” she said.
Ultimately, the ASUCI decided to table it indefinitely. No ASUCI members outside of those who proposed the resolution expressed support for it, according to Sari.
In Levine’s view, the main reason why the resolution was tabled was because “tons of Jewish students came out, both online and in person, to give statement[s], so I think the student government actually listened to them, which is surprising given what’s been happening on other campuses. … We are immensely proud of our courageous students leaders for standing up to this antisemitic BDS proposal,” he said. “Their speeches and commitment to fighting back speaks to passion and spirit of our next generation of Jewish leaders. Hillel at UCI is proud to have helped cultivated a campus environment of robust Jewish and Israel education – culminating in both Jewish and non-Jewish students standing up against this resolution.”
Anti-Defamation League Orange County/Long Beach Regional Director Matthew Friedman said in a statement that the resolution was “harmful and performative” and lauded “the brave UCI students who stood up for their community and spoke out against this divisive resolution.”
ADL Orange County/Long Beach congratulates @UCIrvine's students who opposed a divisive boycott, divestment and sanctions resolution. pic.twitter.com/34Pmc50NMi
— ADL California (@ADLCalifornia) May 15, 2025
Sari has been studying abroad for the past two quarters, but feels that “this quarter has been more quiet … compared to last year… you definitely don’t see the environment that we saw last year, which was incredibly traumatic for many students.” She added that “you don’t feel the passionate violence as much.” As an example, Sari pointed out that when the resolution was tabled indefinitely, the anti-Israel protesters who showed up simply walked out. Last year, they would have interrupted the speeches, chanted and maybe even engaged in violence, Sari contended.
“It’s night and day compared to last year,” Levine said. “There’s still been a couple of anti-Israel things,” pointing to big anti-Israel marches that occurred on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre and on “Nakba Day.” “But both the quality and quantity of these are much smaller.” Last year, he said “there would be five, 600 people for a march — and this was multiple times a month — plus the encampment, which was hundreds of people. And this year, maybe they had 70 people during Nakba Day, so definitely night and day.”
Sari also said that the university is taking the concerns of Jewish students seriously and “were there for us” when Jewish students expressed concern over the bill. “I feel more secure on campus,” she said.
The ASUCI did not immediately respond to The Journal’s request for comment.
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