Yesterday the story leaked that Alan Dershowitz was calling members of Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine and threatening to organize an international boycott of the school following its decision to divest from the Israeli occupation. Dershowitz has clarified his intention in Inside Higher Ed:
Dershowitz, a Harvard University law professor and well known
supporter of Israel, threatened to unleash a campaign against the
college, and issue a call for donors to withhold contributions, unless
Hampshire resolves any ambiguities and clearly states that it rejects
student efforts to divest from the Jewish state. “What they have to do
is make it impossible for the students to plausibly be able to declare
victory,” said Dershowitz, whose son went to Hampshire.“They want me on their side, they want the anti-Israel students on
their side, they want everybody on their side. But unfortunately the
divestment campaign is a zero-sum game. Both sides can’t win, and
Hampshire let the anti-Israel students win and they will pay a heavy
price for that. Unless they withdraw it, they withdraw it and they make
it clear they have rejected these efforts to divest from Israel.”
Zero-sum game? Dershowitz is the one who is demanding that the College support Israel in lockstep with no questions asked. In fact, the Hampshire divestment campaign has been exemplary in not taking a zero-sum approach. Read the students own explanation of their divestment effort from their website:
Due to numerous questions over the nature of divestment in the above
call for divestment, SJP has added the following addendum to clarify
what is meant by divestment.Investments should not be made in any company that provides products or
services, including financial services, to Israeli governmental or
military bodies that are used to facilitate or undertake violent acts
against civilians or violations of international law, or to Israeli or
Palestinian organizations or groups that are used to facilitate or
undertake violent acts against civilians or violations of international
law.For the purposes of this investment screen this would include companies that:
1. Provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance of
the Israeli military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including
East Jerusalem;2. Provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance and
expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian
territories;3. Establish facilities or operations in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories;
4. Provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance and construction of the Separation Wall;
5. Provide products or services that contribute to violent acts that target either Israeli or Palestinian civilians.
The call is to divest from "products or services that contribute to violent acts that target either Israeli or Palestinian civilians." To make sure that Hampshire is not invested in any company benefiting from violence towards either Palestinians or Israelis. This is a balanced and ethical approach. The exact opposite of Dershowitz's demand the Hampshire blindly support Israeli militarism and expansionism.
It also forces the question of where is the US invested in this conflict? Are US institutions funding suicide bombers? Of course not. Are US institutions funding the carnage in Gaza. Yes. This is the double standard this divestment effort seeks to address. Although the language passed is balanced, the situation is not and so the college's divestment action will be focused on Israel. Hampshire student Matan Cohen made this point yesterday in the Jerusalem Post:
Asked if the SJP would encourage the college to divest from companies providing similar "dual-use" products in Gaza that assist Hamas's fighting efforts, Cohen replied, "the bottom line is that we as an institution have money invested in the Israeli occupation. We do not have money in Hamas. So it's a non-issue."
Dershowitz wants this reality to be ignored. The fact that the Hampshire divestment effort has already raised this issue means that it's too late to prevent the students from declaring victory. (Adam Horowitz)
