To the Editor: Bad Ideas About Local Responsibilities Harm Cambridge

The tactlessness with which critics are willing to condemn Cambridge’s divestment vote is on full display in a recent op-ed published in The Crimson.

Within a broader argument that Cambridge City Council has no mandate on foreign policy — misguided in its premise, given the city’s own relationships — the author questions the origins of two of its members, Ayah A. Al-Zubi ’23 and Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui. He notes that “Al-Zubi was born in Jordan, while Siddiqui is originally from Pakistan,” then suggests that this detail complicates Harvard’s ability to defend its international students against the Trump administration.

What does being born in Jordan or Pakistan have to do with their responsibilities as elected officials in Cambridge? With Harvard’s standing before the federal government? The author does not explain, instead criticizing these women for supposedly echoing “historical grievances against the Jewish state.”

Invalidating their criticism of Cambridge’s investment in Israel’s policy and practices — criticism the City Council voted to affirm — by tying them to countries they happened to be born in is not only irrelevant; it is racist. It should be called out as such.

Additionally, contrary to the author’s claim that Cambridge is “singling out” Israel, Cambridge has considered the human rights implications of its municipal business relationships, with multiple countries, for years. The Council unanimously adopted a policy order in 2021 to review corporate contracts to ensure no companies the City works with “perpetuate violations of International Human Rights Laws.”

The author also takes issue with the Council devoting “significant time and resources” to an issue beyond Cambridge’s borders at the expense of local concerns, such as public safety. For one, taking a few meetings to discuss a policy with substantial human and material costs is hardly an overinvestment. But even so, a more substantive engagement with Cambridge’s local government would have revealed a different picture.

Siddiqui led the city in convening its first Civic Assembly on surveillance technology, putting community participation at the center of public safety. Al-Zubi is working to tackle housing affordability and improve wages for Cambridge educators.

It turns out a city can do both: address the everyday needs of its residents while also taking a position on the conduct of companies in which it invests. We have a responsibility to ensure that political decisions are led by a commitment to dignity, deliberation, and tact.

Clyve Lawrence ’25-27, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Government concentrator in Adams House.