A Cornell University student union is voting on a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement resolution against Israel that supports Palestinians “resisting” by “any means necessary.”

Cornell Graduate Students United – United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America Local 300 (CGSU-UE) is voting from Friday until Tuesday on a referendum for “International Solidarity with the Palestinian Liberation Struggle.”

The referendum proposes a series of BDS actions and commits to BDS guidelines to “add to international pressure towards dismantling of illegal settlements and occupation of Palestinian land, including in the West Bank, and facilitating the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes.

“Standing with the strength of Palestinians resisting a genocide, and their unequivocal human right to resist oppression by any means necessary, workers around the world are building power through the belief that we free Palestine, and Palestine frees us,” read the referendum.

If the referendum passes, CGSU-UE would commit to undertaking “political education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation and its connection to our working conditions at Cornell."

CGSU-UE would call on Cornell University to disclose the details of its endowments and divest from entities with Israeli ties or those perceived as “morally reprehensible activities.”

The union would implement internal BDS policies as well, creating more transparency about its funding sources and supporting members who refuse funding tied to Israeli and US militaries and weapons manufacturers.

The referendum accused Cornell of supporting a supposed genocide in Gaza through research and financial ties to the defense industry, making special note of a partnership with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

Much of the referendum focused on a response to the federal government’s crackdown on radical campus activism, which has resulted in student visas being revoked and increased pressure for disciplinary actions. The document proposed that the union push the university to support workers “regardless of visa status” and to defend members from “retaliation for pro-Palestinian speech, pedagogy, and research.”

The drafters of the referendum wrote that solidarity with the Palestinian cause was a moral issue as well as a means of defending members from the crackdown, characterizing the proposed actions as part of an offensive response.

The union referendum claimed that “anti-labor interests” were “weaponizing false allegations of antisemitism” against unions because they supposedly recognized the pro-Palestinian movement’s “role in reigniting the international labor movement.”

The referendum referenced US congressional hearings on antisemitism and radicalism in unions. In September, the US Congressional Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Education and Workforce held hearings on antisemitism in unions and education.

Since coming into power, President Donald Trump’s administration has scrutinized American academic institutions for permitting hostile environments to Jewish students during the post-October 7 massacre protests.

In addition to demanding reforms such as clearer protest guidelines and more strictly enforced disciplinary procedures, the Trump administration has revoked the visas of student activists who led encampments or broke the law.