DETROIT — More than a dozen pro-Palestinian students and their allies chided the Wayne State University Board of Governors during a heated Wednesday meeting as they presented a proposal to divest from the university's endowment any holdings linked to Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.

"Divest finally," said student Logan Bull. "The sooner you can act, the better. There is blood on your hands."

Two other students and an alumnus called out WSU Governor Terri Lynn Land and accused the Republican board member of refusing to accept the proposal that was passed out to all the board members and later looking at her phone as one student addressed the board.

"How dare you refuse to take that proposal?" said Grace Cadieux, vice president of WSU Jewish Voices for Peace. "You're an elected official. That is your constituent. You were elected to do a job. Take that proposal."

Later, student Inaya Noor stopped speaking to the board and addressed Land, saying the former Michigan secretary of state was on her phone and had laughed numerous times while others spoke.

"I hope that you listen to my words and do not laugh and make light of the suffering people are enduring," Noor said. "Clearly, you have lived a privileged enough life to not care about others at all."

After the meeting, Land declined to address what the students accused her of, saying three times, "Have a nice day."

The speakers and their proposal come after a relatively quiet fall semester following a raucous year of pro-Palestinian protests and other actions by students at Wayne State, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and other universities across the country. A WSU encampment was set up in May as students and activists pressured the university to divest from Israel after the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250 hostages.

WSU police cleared the encampment, leading to the arrest of numerous students, but the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said in September that charges against five people arrested during the protest encampment would be dismissed.

Pro-Palestinian students have been opposed to Israel's counter-attack, which has since led to the deaths of more than 46,000 people in the Gaza strip, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which makes no distinction between soldiers and civilians.

The divestment proposal also emerged after WSU student government called on the board to divest in 2003 and 2023.

The movement to get universities to divest has not gone away, WSU senior Ridaa Khan said before the meeting. In the past, she said, citizens have been encouraged to take their concerns to state officials.

"We know that the only way to get change in such a tragic genocide that is unfolding before our eyes is to go through an institution that has stood up for human rights in the past and needs to continue to do so," said Khan, a member of WSU Students for Justice in Palestine.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” Israel accused Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate Israel, of carrying out a genocidal massacre in the attack that triggered the war and said it is defending itself in accordance with international law.

The proposal, called a "Responsible Investment Proposal," was supported by more than 50 student organizations known as the WSU Ethical Investments Collective. The 22-page document included historical context, such as WSU's decision to divest from apartheid in South Africa, and highlighted the university's policy on ethical investment.

"Wayne State University prides itself in upholding the values of collaboration, integrity, innovation, excellence, diversity and inclusion, and leadership," says the 22-page document. "...To remain consistent with their commitments, it is in the University’s financial, academic, and moral interests to withdraw all associations from Israel’s ongoing apartheid and genocide."

The proposal also highlighted others who have supported divestment and said a failure to act would damage the university's "reputation as a leader in social justice."

"Over a year of advocacy efforts have further highlighted widespread community support for divestment, most notably with hundreds of people demonstrating their solidarity by visiting the student encampment for divestment on WSU grounds," the document says.

Wayne State officials haven't issued any information about the possible extent of any Israel-connected investments in the university's endowment.

The proposal did not garner comment from any of the board members.

After the meeting, board Chair Shirley Stancato declined comment.

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