Attorney General Tim Griffin has announced that he, along with 23 other state attorneys general, has sent a letter urging Brown University to reject a proposal for divestment from companies conducting business with Israel. The move is said to trigger anti-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) laws in several states.
"Nearly three-fourths of the states have laws that prohibit them from contracting with, investing in, or otherwise doing business with entities that discriminate against Israel, Israelis, or those who do business with either," Griffin stated. "Arkansas’s law places our state among those aggressively combating antisemitic conduct, and it has survived federal court challenge."
Griffin warned of immediate legal consequences if the proposal were adopted. "We urge the Brown University Corporation to reject this antisemitic and unlawful proposal that stems from the violent threats against Jewish students at Brown last spring."
Brown University President Christina H. Paxson confirmed that the Brown Divest Now proposal would be on the agenda at the October 2024 business meeting of the Brown University Corporation. Paxson added that the “Corporation is fully committed” to voting on the measure without delay.
The proposal calls for divestment from companies such as Textron, Safariland, Volvo Group, Airbus, Boeing, General Dynamics, General Electric, Motorola, and RTX Corporation due to their business ties with Israel.
Act 710 of 2017 prohibits Arkansas from contracting with or investing in any entity engaged in a boycott of Israel. This statute was upheld by the Eighth Circuit Court against a challenge brought in Arkansas Times LP v. Waldrip.
Joining Griffin in signing the letter are attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah Virginia and West Virginia.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin:
Tim Griffin became Arkansas's 57th Attorney General on January 10 2023 having previously served as Lieutenant Governor and U.S Representative for Arkansas’s Second Congressional District He has over 28 years of service in U.S Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps currently holding rank of colonel His extensive career includes roles such as U.S Attorney for Eastern District of Arkansas Special Assistant to President George W Bush and various positions within U.S Department of Justice House Committees Pentagon
Griffin is an alumnus of Magnolia High School Hendrix College Tulane Law School Oxford University He resides in Little Rock with his wife Elizabeth Camden native their three children