Georgetown University Student Association bypassed its standard protocols to bring forth a referendum on university divestment from companies and academic institutions with ties to Israel — deciding to hold the vote over the Passover holiday. 

Sixteen of the 28 members of the GUSA voted in favor of a resolution to put the divestment question before the undergraduate student body April 14-16. The initial vote, held earlier this week, was done in secret and without the approval of the senate’s Policy and Advocacy Committee — breaking from typical procedure, the university’s student newspaper, The Hoya, reported. The referendum will require at least 25% turnout and a simple majority of voters in favor to pass.

“Any student referendum provides a sense of the student body’s views on an issue,” a university spokesperson told Jewish Insider. “Student referendums do not create university policy and are not binding on the university.” 

Still, Jewish leaders on campus told JI that the vote is creating a “troubling” campus climate and expressed concern about the unusual way in which it unfolded. 

“The students are deeply disappointed by the rushed and irregular nature of this process, which bypassed the regular protocols of GUSA,” said Rabbi Menachem Shemtov, who leads Georgetown Chabad. “Additionally, scheduling the vote on a Jewish holiday is not only insensitive from the start, but sets a troubling tone that only descends from there. Many Jewish students are out of town and observing the holiday at the time of the vote, effectively excluding them from the process.” 

Ayelet Kaplan, a freshman representative for the Jewish Student Association, called on “all of my Georgetown peers to speak out and against this referendum.” 

“It’s one thing to disagree, even vehemently, on geopolitical issues,” Kaplan said. “It’s another thing to subvert your own procedures, as GUSA did, to bring forth a vote that not only has no effect on how the university invests its money but also reveals an underlying bias against the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.” 

Georgetown holds investments in companies including Google’s holding company Alphabet and Amazon, both of which have provided technology to the Israel Defense Forces. 

The referendum comes amid a slew of antisemitic incidents that have occurred on Georgetown’s campus since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. As the Trump administration issues demands to elite universities to crack down on antisemitic activity on campus — or risk losing federal funding — Georgetown’s administration has been less deferential than other schools. Last month, it issued statements supportive of Badar Khan Suri, a university professor and postdoctoral scholar who was detained by federal authorities for his reported affiliations with Hamas.