As one of the lead negotiators for students protesting inside the grounds of Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil said his primary objective was to get the university to sever all financial ties with Israel.
But as he offered up draft agreements and counter proposals, spoke with mediators in the encampment and sat across the table from high-ranking school administrators, he said he quickly realized that school leaders “were willing to negotiate on anything but divestment.”
“The university made it very clear they didn’t want to criticize Israel or … want their actions to be interpreted as criticism of Israel,” Khalil said in an interview with CNN.
Khalil, a 29-year-old Palestinian student seeking a master’s degree in public affairs, shared copies of proposals he said he and another student negotiator presented to the administration. Khalil said Columbia never put anything in writing, instead making offers verbally. Still, the documents the students delivered to the administration shed new light on their discussions surrounding issues of divestiture, student amnesty, international aid, and concessions the university was willing to make.
“The university refused to commit to divestment, and we wanted assurances,” Khalil said.
The records and interviews show that Khalil and fellow protesters were unwilling to accept terms offered by Columbia that were similar to proposals that students at other campuses, such as Brown University, had accepted. Columbia, like Brown, offered to review its investments and consider divestitures. But without a firm promise, Columbia’s offer didn’t go far enough for Khalil and other protesters, since the university had previously rejected divestment proposals.