ANN ARBOR — After passionate discussions on Tuesday, Nov. 15, the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government voted down a resolution to urge the university to divest from several companies that do business in Israel.

The resolution, brought to the assembly by the group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), called on the student government to ask the university’s board of regents to establish a committee to end relationships with companies including Boeing, G4S, Hewlett-Packard and United 130 Technologies. They say the companies, “supply weapons and equipment used in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and in violation of international human rights law.”

The resolution was voted down 34-13 with three abstentions. SAFE previously brought similar resolutions during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years. Both failed.

Members of the student government heard arguments both for and against the resolution during the four-hour session, which was attended by about 400 students, according to the student body’s communications director, Joe Shea.

“As our university remains invested in these companies, we as students are complicit in the perpetuation of these human rights violations,” SAFE’s website #UMDivest stated. “SAFE calls upon the University of Michigan student body to reflect and learn more about the current situation.”

U-M officially divested from companies on two prior occasions. In 1978 and 2000, it divested from the tobacco industry. In 2015, the student government approved a resolution to create a committee to investigate investments in the fossil fuel industry.