The College Fix

Pro-Palestinian students want university to cut ties with Boeing, other companies connected to Israel

Portland State University just reopened its library after pro-Palestinian protestors took over and vandalized the building in April, causing $1.23 million in damages.

Now, the university is considering protesters’ demands to divest from companies with connections to Israel – prompting criticism from one scholar.

The Millar Library re-opened Sept. 16 after a lengthy repair process that cost $1.23 million, university spokesperson Katy Swordfisk told The College Fix in a recent email.

The protesters’ occupation of the library last spring proved very destructive. Walls, windows, computers, books, furniture, and more were damaged or destroyed, and images showed large parts of the building spraypainted with anti-Israel graffiti.

The fire safety system also was damaged, making it unsafe even for staff to have “consistent access” to the building for several months, according to an update on the library’s website.

Afterward, 22 protesters were arrested, including seven students, the Portland Police Bureau told KOIN News at the time.

Pro-Palestinian students want PSU to end ties to Boeing and other companies connected to Israel. In May, the student government passed a resolution calling for the university to end its “relationship” with the company.

Additionally, a video of the damage to the library shows the words “F— Boeing” spraypainted across glass doors.

This fall, the university is starting up a Committee on Socially Responsible Investment and Partnership to consider the divestment demands.

Swordfisk told The Fix the committee “is tasked with examining PSU’s practices around investment and partnership. The Committee will make recommendations to support and enhance alignment with PSU’s mission and values.”

Boeing has a longtime charitable relationship with PSU, donating “$150,000 to name a classroom in the Karl Miller Center” and “$28,000 a year for scholarships,” according to the student newspaper PSU Vanguard.

However, because it is a supplier of military equipment to Israel, some pro-Palestinian students want the university to end ties to the company. In April, PSU President Ann Cudd agreed to pause relations with the airplane manufacturer in response to the students’ demands.

MORE: Columbia president says ‘sorry’ for police at encampments

However, Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, expressed disapproval over the university’s handling of the situation.

“Pausing relations with Boeing … sounds like a terrifically bad decision,” he told The Fix in a recent email. “PSU should not divest from companies that do business with or support Israel. Doing so is de facto anti-Semitism. There is no good fiscal or ethical reason to capitulate to the demands of the anti-Semitic activists who seek such actions.”

This is not the first accusation of antisemitism against the university in recent months. Some Jewish students expressed fear about returning to campus to KATU 2 News, saying antisemitism appears to be widespread on campus.

Swordfisk, the university spokesperson, told The Fix the university is working to protect students through its Task Force for Building Community Through Dialogue and Fighting Antisemitism, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab Bias, which Cudd formed in January.

Additionally, she said the task force is finalizing a series of “recommendations for improving the campus climate and facilitating more productive dialogue among members of our community with differing viewpoints.”

These include “training programs for staff, faculty and students, creating more spaces or workshops on campus to promote dialogue, and more clarity around existing policies that support free speech,” Swordfisk told The Fix.

However, Wood remained doubtful of the university’s ability to properly handle the situation.

He told The Fix that by capitulating to the demands of the protestors, the administration “made it clear that it regards the protesters as having employed legitimate tactics, which it will certainly see again.”

Wood told The Fix the protestors are not thinking rationally about the situation.

“Students raised on emotional appeals, misrepresentation of the facts, and a naive worldview are susceptible to … propaganda,” he said. “And then mob-mentality and the spirit of group solidarity kicks in. Many of the participants in the protests were and are just ignorant of the situation, but not just ignorant — proudly ignorant.”

MORE: Portland State won’t punish pro-Palestinian student protesters who occupied library

IMAGE: Andy Ngo/X

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