If passed, the motion would force the university council to debate whether to suspend academic and cultural collaborations with Israeli universities and investigate and publicly disclose the university’s ties to financial entities complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights.
A similar motion was passed by the Christchurch City Council.
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa spokeswoman Rinad Tamimi said it was good to see progress on the matter.
"I know a lot of university staff and also students have been standing up for Palestine, so that’s been really overwhelming for us and amazing to see.
"It’s about time that we push through to the university to get something done."
A university spokeswoman said the senate was the principal academic authority and was able to discuss matters of academic interest and administrative matters, so far as they had implications for academic matters.
"Senate will discuss the motion put forward. However, depending on the discussion, senate may or may not choose to vote on the motion at this meeting ... Senate is considering whether to endorse some or all of the motion.
"While the university council would note any endorsement by senate, senate’s endorsement does not inherently mean that the motion will progress to council for consideration at this time."
The spokeswoman noted vice-chancellor Grant Robertson had established a working group on the overall issue of institutional neutrality on geopolitical issues to provide advice to the university council.
"The working group will focus on the foundations for a university policy, what the boundaries are, whether it is appropriate in all circumstances and if not, what circumstances those would be.
"The group will also cover any other matters relating to institutional neutrality they consider relevant. The group has staff and student representation and is expected to report back before the end of the year."
