A demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag inside a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto campus in Toronto, on May 2.COLE BURSTON/Getty Images

Jonah Prousky is a management consultant and freelance writer who focuses on business, technology and society.

Last week, the University of Toronto’s administration met with the pro-Palestinian student protesters camping out on the lawn at King’s College Circle. In the meeting, the protesters restated their demands, namely that the school disclose and divest from any investment tied to Israel.

The students’ demands, however, were rebuffed by the administration. “Their response was a flat-out no,” one of the encampment organizers said.

A “flat-out no” is the right response for universities dealing with student encampments. That’s because their divestment demands would accomplish little and require university investment managers to hold companies that do business in Israel to a double standard.

For starters, most corporations have at least some connection to Israel’s high-tech economy. Even companies that don’t operate in the country likely invest, finance or transact with another company that does. So disentangling a university’s endowment from Israel – to the extent sought by the global........

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