UCLA students vote in favor of Israel divestment

[lego 44,165]

UCLA students vote in favor of Israel divestment

Undergrad student government passes resolution, in 8-2 vote, calling for the university to divest from companies that aid Israeli occupation.

 

The UCLA undergraduate student government passed a resolution that calls for the University of California to divest from American companies that are accused of abusing Palestinian human rights.

The student government passed the divestment resolution by a vote of 8 to 2, with two abstentions on Tuesday night.

The passing vote comes nine months after the student government rejected a similar resolution by a vote of 7-5, which came amid threats to student representatives and accusations that the campus Jewish community was not consulted on the resolution.

Brought by Students for Justice in Palestine, the resolution called for divestment from Caterpillar, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Cemex and Cement Roadstone Holdings  companies that divestment backers said were used by the Israeli military to violate Palestinian human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

About 250 students attended the Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting on Tuesday night, according to the UCLA student newspaper, The Daily Bruin. There was 90 minutes of public comment on the resolution during the meeting, though only students who supported the proposal spoke, according to the newspaper.

Representatives from Hillel at UCLA, Bruins for Israel and J Street U made a special 15-minute presentation during which they explained their opposition to the resolution.

Students for Justice in Palestine also made a presentation, saying that the university should divest from the companies because they because they either contributed to the construction of settlements in the West Bank or provided weapons used in attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Daily Bruin.

Student groups that co-sponsored the resolution include the Afrikan Student Union, Armenian Student Association, MEChA de UCLA, Samahang Pilipino, Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation, Queer Alliance and Bruin Feminists for Equality.

Following the passage of the resolution, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said the university recognizes that students "have a right to engage in open dialogue and share opinions on complex issues."

"Divestment from a foreign government or companies doing business with a foreign government, however, is a serious action that requires careful, fair deliberations," he said in a statement issued Thursday. "UCLA and the UCLA Foundation share the Board of Regents conviction that divestment decisions should not hold any one organization or country to a different standard than any other. The Board of Regents does not support divestment in companies that engage in business with Israel and UCLA agrees with that position."

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.627740

 

 

Right-wing MK warns ‘post-Zionist’ groups infiltrating Hillel around the U.S.
Ayelet Shaked of Habayit Hayehudi says Jewish organization serving 550 American campuses providing a platform for BDS movement.

 

“Many kids who grow up in pro-Israel homes end up joining anti-Israel movements as a result of their influence,†he charged. As a graduate student at Berkeley, Nestel served as chairman of the Israeli Students’ Organization in North America. He has spent the past few years making this film.

...

When asked by Shaked how Hillel could have allowed a member of Breaking the Silence, a group founded and run by veteran IDF combatants, to speak at one of its functions, Fingerhut responded: “The person invited to speak was, to the best of my knowledge, an IDF veteran who served with distinction. He was invited to speak by a Jewish graduate student at an American university. We felt, and I feel personally, that to have told that student that we would not let her invite this IDF veteran to come speak because we didn’t like the organization he’s associated with would have been the wrong approach for building the enduring commitment to Israel that we seek.â€

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.628271

 

Leading Mideast studies group allows members to support BDS
Israeli academics present at Middle East Studies Association’s AGM in Washington call the move unprecedented and a game changer.

The Middle East Studies Association approved a proposal on Monday adopting the rights of its members to support an academic boycott and end cooperation with Israeli academic institutions.

The proposal was passed by a majority of 265 against 79.

The organization, which is considered the most important in the field of Middle East studies, was founded in 1966. It has 2,700 members and over 60 institutional members worldwide, as well as 39 affiliated organizations.

It calls itself “a private, nonprofit, nonpolitical, learned society that brings together scholars, educators and those interested in the study of the region from all over the world.†Among its declared goals is fostering the study of the Middle East in the United States and promoting high academic standards; it publishes a number of journals and other publications.

The wording of the decision, which Haaretz has obtained, supports the right of organizations who have already decided to boycott Israel to do so, and criticizes attacks on them.

The draft resolution calls boycotts a legitimate nonviolent political means. The proposal was expected to pass, say various members of MESA. Israeli academics called the resolution unprecedented and one that changes the rules of the game.

Hundreds of people attended a preliminary session on the issue, held Sunday during the organization’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The session was closed to the press, but some participants said supporters of the boycott controlled the meeting’s tone.

Israeli academics were also present in the hall and answered aggressive questions from the audience, including those concerning academic freedom for Palestinians in Israel and the territories, as well as the percentage of Palestinian students in Israel.

Statements supporting the boycott received applause and cheers, and the atmosphere was unpleasant, said one of the Israeli participants. At least one Israeli diplomat was present at the session: Israeli consul general to the Midwest, Roey Gilad.

The resolution on Monday states that the organization recognizes there are various opinions about the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement against Israel, but that this debate falls under the definition of academic freedom, and so is protected by the organization.

Even if for now the significance of the resolution is mostly symbolic, the debate over a boycott of Israel is gradually moving into the center of the academic sphere and is no longer on the margins.

Israeli academics who attended the meeting expressed concern over the implications if the resolution is passed. Prof. Uzi Rabi, director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University and a member of MESA, said the resolution would mark a precedent.

“I hope I am proven wrong,†Rabi said, “but this is a game changer, and from my perspective it does not look good.â€

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.628227

 

 

 

Yes, this deserves it's own thread.

[Didymus 34,380]

"the construction of settlements in the West Bank or provided weapons used in attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip"

 

Agreed that support for this is criminal and actually against international law.

 

"the debate over a boycott of Israel is gradually moving into the center of the academic sphere and is no longer on the margins"

 

This is very good news no matter what side you're on Thanks for posting. Gonna read through it some more

[Emvee 8,830]

Good!

[lego 44,165]

"the construction of settlements in the West Bank or provided weapons used in attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip"

 

Agreed that support for this is criminal and actually against international law.

 

"the debate over a boycott of Israel is gradually moving into the center of the academic sphere and is no longer on the margins"

 

This is very good news no matter what side you're on Thanks for posting. Gonna read through it some more

 

No problem.

In case some of the Haaretz articles you see as locked, just copy link and paste it on your twitter, then when you click from there, it will show you the whole article. The tricks.

[lego 44,165]

https://twitter.com/SeaMAC_campaign/status/533376975453188096

https://twitter.com/SeaMAC_campaign/status/533887399089016833

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NCD5o981tMY