Northwestern Pro-Palestinian Protestors Claim 'Historic' Victory In Deal To End Encampment

EVANSTON, IL — Organizers of the five-day Gaza solidarity encampment on Northwestern University's Evanston campus claimed victory after negotiating an agreement with administrators, who faced sharp criticism from pro-Israeli organizations.

The Northwestern University Divestment Coalition, a group of more than a half-dozen campus activist organizations, issued a statement declaring that it had achieved the "first step toward divestment" by getting the administration to agree to increased disclosures of the school's financial holdings.

Specifically, the agreement calls for Northwestern representatives "to answer questions from any internal stakeholder about specific holdings, held currently or within the last quarter, to the best of its knowledge and to the extent legally possible."

If school officials cannot provide an answer within 30 days, the agreement calls for them to provide a reason and realistic timeline to do so.

Starting in the fall, the administration will also re-establish its advisory committee on investment responsibility with representation from students, staff and faculty, according to the agreement.

And administrators will "include students in a process dedicated to implementing broad input on University dining services, including residential and retail vendors on campus."

The protest organizers suggested the portion of the agreement pertaining to dining services would help avoid problematic university contracts.

"This provides an important step towards the crucial goal of divesting the University from vendors who profiteer from the Israeli occupation and/or cultural appropriation," the coalition statement said.

Pro-Israel organizations issued statements in response to the agreement, criticizing University President Michael Schill and the rest of the school's leadership.

In an open letter to Schill, Jewish United Fund officials said the university president had violated the trust of the "overwhelming majority" of Jewish students, faculty and staff by embracing those who flout school policies.

"While Northwestern quickly moved to adopt new common-sense measures to protect its academic mission — and its student body — the school did nothing to enforce them. Instead, they allowed protestors, including outside agitators, to intimidate Jewish students and faculty," the letter said.

Schill announced the banning of tents on campus and other changes to the university's protest policy in an "interim addendum" issued hours after the plans for the pro-Palestinian encampment were publicly disclosed. The university's private security force Thursday then made an abortive effort to enforce the new rules and disperse the encampment.

"You certainly acted generously towards those with loud, at times hateful voices," the open letter told Schill. "The lack of any reassuring message to our community has also been heard loud and clear."

Yinam Cohen, consul general of Israel to the Midwest, said the "appeasement agreement" represented a dark day in Northwestern's history.

"We are appalled by Northwestern's decision to turn its back on Jewish and Israeli students who have been targets of hateful harassment and intimidation," Cohen said. "This decision rewards the pro-terror, anti-Israel, and anti-America aggressors on campus."

And representatives of ADL Midwest described the deal with demonstrators as "reprehensible" and "dangerous."

"For days, protestors violated campus codes of conduct and policies, intentionally fanned the flames of hate and antisemitism, and wreaked havoc on campus life. Instead of holding the perpetrators accountable, the university rewarded them," the ADL statement said. "It would be unbelievable if it wasn't true."

According to the ADL Midwest, Northwestern has become increasingly hostile for Jewish students, especially since Oct. 7, 2023. In response to the administration's handling of the encampment, it downgraded the university on its new, trademarked "Campus Antisemitism Report Card" from D to an F.

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Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, a professor of religion and politics and supporter of NU Educators for Palestine, said the student organizers should be heeded.

“History has shown us to follow the lead of young people. It is young people who spoke out clearly against the brutal war on Vietnam and led their universities to divest from South African apartheid," Hurd said in a statement. "Yet again we must follow the lead of the young people who are calling for an end to genocide."

The agreement also includes a commitment to take down all but one tent and exclude everyone but Northwestern students, faculty and staff from the demonstration area. It was approved by a 17-1 vote by elected representatives of the coalition, according to the coalition's statement.

Sharing the "historic news," encampment organizers said the deal to pull up stakes does not end their campaign to put pressure Northwestern's administration and board in the coming months and years.

"We emphasize that the result of these negotiations is the floor for our progress going forward, not the ceiling," it said. "The agreement represents a commitment towards disclosure, which is a vital precondition for pushing towards divestment."

The 2-page agreement also includes provisions for Palestinian students and scholars, an on-campus space for Middle Eastern and Muslim students and additional support for Jewish and Muslim students.

“We hope that our victory here at Northwestern will inspire other students to keep organizing," said Dan Murrieta, a spokesperson for the Northwestern chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. "My tradition teaches me to commit to tikkun olam, repairing the world, and right now tikkun olam looks like calling on all universities to divest from Israeli apartheid as one step towards Palestinian freedom.”

The day after the agreement with Northwestern administrators was announced, a coalition of student organizations at DePaul University in Chicago established a new campus encampment, with more than 100 students issuing a list of new demands.

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Earlier:

• Pro-Palestinian Protestors Reach Deal With Northwestern Administration Over Encampment
• Northwestern's Private Security Force Fails To Clear Gaza Solidary Camp
• Prosecutors Drop Charges Over Anti-Israel Fake Daily Northwestern Front Pages
• Northwestern Antisemitism Complaint Triggers Federal Investigation