A University of Maryland student government resolution backed by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is drawing sharp criticism after being scheduled for a vote on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. The resolution pushes for the university to cut ties with organizations linked to Israel. Jewish students say the timing effectively sidelines their participation, raising accusations of deliberate religious discrimination.
The bill, brought to the Student Government Association (SGA), is part of a growing campus push for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. The original date for the vote was Rosh Hashanah, another major Jewish holiday. After protests, the SGA rescheduled—only to move it to Oct. 1, which is Yom Kippur. Critics argue this move was intentional, preventing observant Jewish students from attending the vote and defending against the measure.
The university claimed the date was chosen due to procedural deadlines and insisted that students observing the holiday could submit proxy votes. However, the ability to submit a vote without attending does not allow for meaningful debate or public objection during the meeting. Jewish advocacy groups say this undermines the democratic process.
Leo Terrell, chair of the Department of Justice Task Force on Combating Jew-Hatred, condemned the vote’s timing as “shameful and unacceptable.” He called for universities to recognize and protect religious freedoms in student governance. The Amcha Initiative, which tracks campus antisemitism, also criticized the move as part of a larger trend of weaponizing student governments to isolate and harass Jewish students.
The SJP chapter has called for the university to divest from organizations they allege are complicit in “Israeli apartheid,” using the same language employed in previous BDS campaigns. SJP’s resolution attempts to classify Israel as a settler-colonial state and claims its actions in Gaza and the West Bank constitute ethnic cleansing.
Multiple Jewish students expressed concern over rising antisemitism on campus, especially after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which left over 1,200 Israelis dead. Many say that since then, anti-Israel rhetoric has increasingly blurred into open hostility against Jewish students and institutions. The university administration has yet to issue a formal statement addressing the impact of this vote on the Jewish student body.
