An Associated Students of Madison representative proposed an amendment late Wednesday night that would have struck controversial language regarding Israel from a hotly debated piece of legislation, but the student council voted instead to table the bill indefinitely.
The bill demands that the UW-Madison administration cut ties with corporations that are “complicit in the violations of Black, Brown, and Indigenous lives.” Rep. Glen Water, a supporter of the bill, introduced the amendment, saying he took into account criticism from members of the UW-Madison community who condemned the legislation due to its controversial language regarding Israel.
Hundreds of students attended an open forum Wednesday night, many of whom spoke against the bill, calling it divisive and hateful.
After the forum, Water proposed eliminating a clause that describes human rights abuses committed by Israel. He also proposed striking more inflammatory wording in the bill, such as a sentence that describes Israel as an “apartheid legal system.”
“Based off of everything I’m hearing, and all the notes I took, the word ‘genocide’, the word ‘apartheid’ … was not what it was supposed to be,” Water said. “This bill is about corporations.”
Freshman Rep. Diego Villegas attempted to call Water’s amendment to question, meaning it would be voted on immediately. However, the call to question did not receive a two-thirds vote, so debate continued.
As the night wound down, representatives expressed concern that ASM would not have time to adequately debate the amendment. Student council meetings must conclude by midnight due to Student Activity Center rules.
But Rep. Tyriek Mack, one of the sponsors of the original bill, criticized the body for “making excuses” and not taking any action to consider the legislation.
“[Rep. Water] just made an amendment to take out Israel from the entire resolution, and that’s what everyone [at the forum] came for,” Mack said. “When it actually comes down to talking about making amendments, everyone gets silent … Let’s get to work, y’all.”
The clock eventually struck midnight, but not before the council voted 13-12-1 to table the bill indefinitely.
Mack told The Daily Cardinal the sponsors of the legislation plan to re-introduce it at a later date.
