“I think such initiatives at the municipal and state level may be more successful as pension funds here are by law under public scrutiny and control whereas those held by Harvard are not,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Rami R. Sarafa ’07, a member of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee, said divestment is “one of the most civilized and diplomatic measures you can take to express your political discontent with a country, a group or an individual.”

Sarafa said he sees the potential for a reemergence of campus divestment petitions.

“The fact that an entire city would agree to divest would set the precedent for other universities and other groups to do the same,” he said. “There is a very good opportunity for it to spread.”

But Eric R. Trager ’05, vice president of Harvard Students for Israel, said he heard of the Somerville proposal but didn’t expect it to spark a revival of Harvard’s divestment campaign.

“I think that people on this campus, even those who were most critical, have come to the realization that the investment campaign is an inherently extreme means of penalizing Israel,” Trager said.

—Staff writer Michael M. Grynbaum can be reached at grynbaum@fas. harvard.edu.