Providence voters approve measure that could lead to divestment from Israel

Voters in Providence, Rhode Island, have approved a ballot measure that could lead the city to withdraw public investments from Israel, according to local media reports. The result marks a victory for advocates of an Israel boycott, although the ordinance does not identify Israel by name.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections recorded support at 75%, with 25% opposed, as partial results were available from 81 of the city’s 82 polling locations. Both the Rhode Island Current and the Boston Globe reported that the measure had passed. The figures reflected a count in which reporting from polling locations was still incomplete.

The ordinance directs the state capital to avoid investments in foreign countries carrying out ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide. Its potential implications for investments connected to Israel were central to the local debate, with pro-Palestinian organizations strongly supporting the proposal and some Jewish and pro-Israel groups opposing it.

A representative of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island had previously told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the organization would examine legal options for challenging the measure if voters approved it. Progressive Jewish organizations took a different position. Among those campaigning for passage was the local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Providence now becomes the largest municipality to have voted for some form of divestment from Israel. The vote follows a decision in Somerville, Massachusetts, where voters backed a nonbinding divestment proposal in 2025. Providence has an estimated Jewish population of 15,000, representing approximately 7% of the city’s residents.

The result also follows a primary defeat for Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, a progressive supporter of Israel who converted to Judaism during his time in office. Smiley lost to a democratic socialist, an outcome that offered an early indication of the direction of the subsequent divestment vote.

The local campaign comes amid growing activist efforts to challenge American financial support for Israel in the years following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in Gaza. Those initiatives have gained momentum as debate over support for Israel has continued.

On Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would halt nearly $4 billion in annual military assistance to Israel by the end of 2026. Trump described aid to Israel as a political liability.