The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Columbia University have both passed historic resolutions calling for divestment from Israel.
Last week, the Illinois Student Government passed a resolution calling for the school to divest from transnational companies that contribute to the American and Israeli military, prisons, police forces, or ICE. The resolution was first brought to the student government in February, but was originally vetoed.
“This victory means a lot to me, both as a Palestinian and as a UIUC student. There is rampant anti-Palestinian racism among students and faculty, which is emboldened and protected by the university administration,” UIUC student and resolution co-author Buthaina Hattab told Mondoweiss. “To me, this victory reinforced Palestine as central and critical to any struggle that seeks to maintain and uphold free speech and human rights.”
Hattab also drew a connection between the resolution and the current Black Lives Matter movement gripping the nation. “At the time of the resolution hearing, there was an emergency protest for Breonna Taylor at the Champaign Police Department (CPD),” she said. “Many of our allies were at the protest and actually living with the reality of injustice as we tried to pass this resolution. Passing a resolution calling for the divestment of police and military companies could not come at a more critical time in our struggle. I hope that people will realize the urgency and immediacy of divestment as police and military forces in US cities, at the Mexico-US border, and in Palestine continue to harm us.”
The student body at Columbia University passed a referendum that had been developed by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a group that was formed in 2016. The referendum asked, “Should Columbia University divest its stocks, funds, and endowment from companies that profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s acts towards Palestinians, that according to Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), fall under the United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid?”
Columbia University President Lee Bollinger immediately distanced himself from the vote and made it clear that he does not agree with the move. In a statement, Bollinger said that “altering our endowment in order to advance the interests of one side is not among the paths we will take.”
“These campus BDS victories are indicative of the rapidly changing tide we’re seeing across the United States,” the BDS Movement’s North America coordinator Olivia Katbi Smith told Mondoweiss. “Despite the escalating campaigns of repression on campuses and in the halls of government, it is becoming impossible to be ‘progressive except Palestine’, because it is becoming impossible to silence our movement. The Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality so clearly intersects with all other struggles of oppressed peoples everywhere.”
“‘..it is becoming impossible to be ‘progressive except Palestine’, because it is becoming impossible to silence our movement. The Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality so clearly intersects with all other struggles of oppressed peoples everywhere.'”
Well and truly stated!!
Major kudos to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Columbia University!!
We have the momentum!! Zionism is rotting within!!
That “rampant anti-Palestinian” bigotry is no accident. It is deceptively engineered by Israeli interests. Jewish scholar Israel Shahak has written in depth about the Zionist strategy of deception in his book <i>Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years</i>. It’s free online.
https://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/shahak.html
My thanks to all those students who are standing firm for the mission of their university, to seek the truth, and thereby justice. I hope these two groups of students will inspire other students across the country to do likewise.
“Columbia University President Lee Bollinger immediately distanced himself from the vote and made it clear that he does not agree with the move. ”
Gosh! No! Really? Never expected that.
Hello all! I’m new to the site and trying to understand. I’ve read lots about BDS and it seems like a great way to effect change!
My question is do you think its going far enough? Specifically the divestment. I see alot of people paying lipservice to this concept but then not really doing it. Boycotts might work only politically, and sanctions might be difficult to implement because many countries rely on Israel for their military, but divestment should be much easier.
Divestment hits the bank account directly!
Divestment shouldn’t only be investments in Israeli companies but also the products they produce. What does it help to divest if in the the end Israel sells its products through multinational companies?
If we really want to end the flow of money we should decide to not use ANY products made by Israel even if they are sold by big multi-nationals.
The Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality so clearly intersects with all other struggles of oppressed peoples everywhere.
Unfortunately the University of Toronto didn’t get the memo –
“The University of Toronto’s law school allegedly rescinded a job offer for director of the law school’s International Human Rights Program in response to external pressure about the candidate’s scholarship and work on Israeli government violations of international law.
…
The candidate, Dr. Valentina Azarova, was the university hiring panel’s unanimous top choice.”
https://www.juancole.com/2020/10/critical-chilling-research.html