Boycott campaign blasts ahead at York University:

"One of Canada’s largest student association endorses BDS against Israel"

Ha'aretz, April 1, 2013
At: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/one-of-canada-s-largest-student-association-endorses-bds-against-israel-1.512800


One of the largest student association in Canada passed a resolution endorsing the global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel.

With the passage late last week of the resolution, York University's student association joins two others in Canada - the University of Toronto and Concordia University graduate student associations - in endorsing the BDS campaign, according to the York University Excalibur.

The campaign calls for universities to divest from holdings in companies that do business with Israel and to cut ties with Israeli academics.

The vote by the council of the York Federation of Students was 18-2 in favor and was advocated for by the Students Against Israeli Apartheid at York....


*******************************************

Epidemic of birth defects in Iraq following its bombardment:

1. See the BBC News report, released March 21, 2013. These birth defects have been attributed to war munitions, by interviewees at the Iraqi Health Ministry & also at Basra Maternity Hospital: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21873892 .

2. See the BBC documentary, first broadcast March 22, 2013, with longer interviews, including Dr. Muhsin Al-Sabbak and Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani. The BBC also interviews Iraqi Health Ministry staff members. They confirm that a World Health Organization report will show an increase of birth defects following the bombardment of Iraq: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3csrmz9 .

3. See also CNN: “Birth defects on the rise in Fallujah”, March 20, 2013, at: http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2013/03/20/pkg-damon-iraq-fallujah-deformities.cnn#/video/world/2013/03/20/pkg-damon-iraq-fallujah-deformities.cnn

4. See also ABC News (U.S.A.): "Birth Defects Plague Iraq, But Cause Unknown", March 25, 2013, at http://abcnews.go.com/Health/birth-defects-plague-iraq-10-years-us-invasion/story?id=18793428

(The ABC report states that "the Federal Ministry of Health of Iraq and the World Health Organization have yet to release their joint study exploring the prevalence of birth defects in Iraq.")

5. See also SBS World News Australia: “Iraq’s epidemic of birth defects linked to war”, March 21, 2013, at http://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/22742595799/Iraqs-epidemic-of-birth-defects-linked-to-war .

6. See also Al Jazeera: “Epidemic of birth defects in Iraq and our duty as public health researchers”, March 15, 2013, at http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/03/2013312175857532741.html .

7. See again Al Jazeera: “Iraq: War’s legacy of cancer”, March 15, 2013, at http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/03/2013315171951838638.html .

8. See Democracy Now: “Ten Years Later, U.S. Has Left Iraq with Mass Displacement & Epidemic of Birth Defects, Cancers”, March 20, 2013, at http://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/20/ten_years_later_us_has_left .

9. See also MSNBC: “Bush promised Iraqi civilians a better future. What are their lives like now?”, March 18, 2013, at http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/03/18/president-bush-promised-iraqi-civilians-a-better-future-what-are-their-lives-like-now/ .

10. See also the Chicago Tribune, March 21, 2013, in the column "Soul Poison", at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/sns-201303201630--tms--rkoehlerctnbk-a20130321-20130321,0,1598481.column

11. See also BBC Arabic, March 21, 2013: هل فاقمت حرب العراق سرطان و تشوهات الاطفال؟ , at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/multimedia/2013/03/130321_iraq_children_cancer.shtml


(Note: The BBC news report is also on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewpV2OBxLAc )

Boycott Spreads, in Defiance of Apartheid Israel:

The boycott against Apartheid Israel has spread to three local councils in the U.K.

Clackmannanshire Council has now joined W. Dunbartonshire & Stirling in approving boycott resolutions against Israel.

See: http://bit.ly/114zbtP


------------------------------------------------------


And today's Daily Californian (UC Berkeley) has another article on the latest campus victory for the movement to divest from Israel:

"UC San Diego student government calls on UC Regents to divest"

DAILY CAL
March 18, 2013

At: http://www.dailycal.org/2013/03/17/uc-san-diego-student-government-calls-on-uc-regents-to-divest/

"The Associated Students Council at UC San Diego passed a resolution Wednesday calling on the University of California to divest from companies doing business with the Israeli government.

"The final resolution passed in a secret ballot by a vote of 20 in favor, 12 against and one abstention after more than five hours of debate and amendments...."


*************************************

 

"UC San Diego student government passes divestment"___________________________________________

"UC San Diego student government passes divestment"

Arab American News
March 15, 2013

At: http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=USA&article=6535

San Diego — After a four year campaign, the University of California, San Diego's undergraduate student government has passed a resolution urging the university to cease its investments in companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

 

The bill was cosponsored by multiple student government members and was similar to previous bills that have been discussed since April 2010. The bill had previously failed to get approval last year, but that same version received a vote of 20 in favor, 12 against, and 1 person who abstained.

 

The issue of divestment has gained major momentum in Student Governments across the country in recent years. Similar bills passed by student governments at UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside are raising pressure on the University of California (UC) administration to divest from companies profiting from war crimes and human rights violations in the region.

 

Student activists say that the UC has a long history of using divestment as a tool for positive social change — starting with cigarette companies to companies profiting from apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s.

 

But UC President Mark Yudof dismissed these allegations, stating that he sees no reason for the university to divest from Israel when the U.S. has not taken a stance on the issue either.

 

“The U.S. has not made any declaration regarding the State of Israel and, therefore, we will not bring a recommendation before the Board to divest from companies doing business with the State of Israel,” Yudof told the press.

 

Yudof is expected to resign this upcoming August, and students are hoping that will position the university to look into a more ethical investment scheme for funding.

 

 

 

*************************************************

 

Los Angeles Times:A "widening movement" to divest from Israeli occupation.______________________________

"UC San Diego council seeks divestment from firms with West Bank ties"

Los Angeles Times

March 14, 2013

At: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/uc-san-diego-council-joins-calls-for-divesting-firms-with-west-bank-ties.html



"UC San Diego’s student government joined a widening movement urging the university system to divest from companies that some student activists contend are violating the human rights of Palestinians and aiding Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

"After a sometimes angry debate that went past 1 a.m. Thursday, the Associated Students’ council voted 20 to 12 with one abstention to endorse a resolution that seeks to end UC investment in such companies as Northrop Grumman, Alliant Techsystems and General Electric. The students contend that these companies provide technology, weapons or other products the Israeli military uses in the Palestinian territories.

"Last week, a similar measure was passed by the student government at UC Riverside and one was approved at UC Irvine in November. However, those advisory measures have no power over the UC regents, who control the university’s massive portfolio and have said they will not take any divestment action involving Israel.

"Supporters of Israel complained that the UC San Diego measure was unfair and divisive. Leaders of the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine, which lobbied for the resolution, issued a statement that applauded the vote, saying it was 'in solidarity with Palestinians seeking freedom and justice.' ”



*******************************************
 

"UC San Diego Student Government calls for divestment from Israeli Occupation"

The student government of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) just voted, March 14, 2013, to approve a resolution for divestment against corporations who profit from violent conflict in Israel and Palestine --

* "UC San Diego Student Government calls for divestment from Israeli Occupation"

March 14, 2013
At: http://www.clickrally.com/ucsd-divestment-from-israeli-occupation/


* See also: "UCSD Divestment 2013 Vote"

March 14, 2013
Start watching 4 minutes in, at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzVkNHWpNfw


The UCSD divestment resolution was approved by a large majority of 20 in favor, only 12 against, and 1 abstaining.

Finally, students for Palestinian rights have a reason to feel self-confident and empowered.

---------------------------------------------------------

This victory follows recent divestment resolutions approved by the student governments of UC Riverside and UC Irvine, and many others listed below.

On March 6, 2013, the student government at the University of California-Riverside voted overwhelmingly for divestment against Israeli Apartheid.

The vote was 11-5, and it overrode a veto that attempted to kill the divestment resolution.

That followed a recent vote for divestment at UC-Irvine's student government (in the L.A. Times at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/uc-irvine-student-leaders-urge-uc-to-divest-in-some-companies.html ).

It also follows earlier student government votes for divestment at:

* Evergreen State College in 2010 (http://electronicintifada.net/content/evergreen-state-students-overwhelmingly-pass-divestment-votes/1067 ),

* Wayne State University's Student Council voted for total divestment against Israel (at http://tinyurl.com/85r6um2 ),

* Arizona State University in 2012 (at http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-roundup-arizona-state-university-student-government-votes-divest-israel )

* The University of Michigan-Dearborn (at http://michigandaily.com/content/dearborn-student-govt-demands-divestment ),

* Carleton University graduate students in 2012 (at http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/canadian-first-carleton-university-students-pass-israel-occupation-divestment )

Also:

* The University of Wisconsin-Platteville faculty senate approved its own divestment resolution (at http://michigandaily.com/content/faculty-senate-wisc-passes-divestment-bill ),

* MEChA, the largest association of Chicano youth in the U.S., voted overwhelmingly at its 2012 national conference to endorse the global call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel ( http://www.nationalmecha.org/archives/2012/03/national_mecha_endorses_palestinian_boycott_call_against_israel.php ),

* South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, voted to make boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel part of its official policy in December 2012 (at http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2012/12/anc-takes-firm-position-in-solidarity.html ), and

* The Olympia Food Co-op, in 2010, voted to boycott all Israeli products (at http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/21/1310754/israel-cleaned-from-co-op-shelves.html )

* Ann Arbor, Michigan's Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice voted for a resolution favoring divestment against the Israeli military, and now Ann Arbor City Council is faced with demands to boycott Israel entirely:

http://www.annarbor.com/news/protesters-ask-new-ann-arbor-city-council-member-to-spearhead-resolution-to-boycott-israel/

In these votes, every argument that apartheid could make was rejected. After all, the arguments favoring Apartheid Israel are identical to the arguments made to preserve the old dead Apartheid State of South Africa.

Furthermore, Apartheid South Africa was tighly allied to Apartheid Israel. (See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/feb/07/southafrica.israel )

 

In closing, look at the ecstatic tweets this morning, from UCSD and UC Berkeley students:

********************************************

 

L.A. Times reports on UC Riverside divestment victory:

"UC Riverside student Senate urges divestment from firms working in West Bank"

 

Los Angeles Times

March 8, 2013, 6:38 PM

At: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/uc-riverside-student-senate-urges-divestment-from-firms-working-in-west-bank.html

 

 

UC Riverside’s student Senate this week passed a controversial resolution urging the university system to divest from nine companies that the students contend are violating the human rights of Palestinians and aiding Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

The move is part of a wave of similar measures under consideration, some successful and some not, at other UC campuses.

However, those advisory resolutions have no power over UC finances. The UC regents and other administrators have said they have no intention of any divestments focused on Israel.

Nevertheless, the UC Riverside matter passed the student Senate in an 11-5 vote, enough to avoid a veto by the undergraduate student body president, Liam Dow, who said he opposes the matter. In a letter to the campus, Dow said the divestment resolution “encourages biases instead of reconciliation, and creates counter-productive hostilities that divide the UCR campus.”

General Electric, Raytheon, Caterpillar and Hewlett-Packard are among the firms the resolution described as aiding the Israeli repression of Palestinians. The document said it was important for UC to promote values “of human rights, equality and dignity for all people without distinction.”

The student Senate at UC San Diego debated a similar item this week and delayed action until next week. In November, a UC Irvine student panel approved divestment and in 2010 so did a UC Berkeley student government group, only to have it vetoed by the student president there.


--Larry Gordon


*****************************************
 

Che Guevara in the Gaza Strip, 1959:

 

Che Guevara in the Gaza Strip, 1959.

 

 

******************************************

 

The Daily Californian reports: "UC Riverside student government asks University of California to divest from Israeli companies"

Berkeley student Senator favors divestment at Berkeley campus too:


"UC Riverside student government asks University of California to divest from Israeli companies"

By D.J. Sellarole | Staff Reporter
THE DAILY CALIFORNIAN
University of California student newspaper
March 8, 2013

At: http://www.dailycal.org/2013/03/07/uc-riverside-student-government-asks-university-of-california-to-divest-from-israeli-companies/


UC Riverside’s student government passed a resolution Wednesday night asking the University of California to divest from Israeli companies.

The UC San Diego student government also discussed a divestment resolution at its weekly meeting Wednesday night but tabled its version of the bill until next week.

UC Riverside’s resolution passed by a two-thirds majority, with 11 senators in support. A similar bill was introduced at UC Berkeley in 2010, causing national outcry from pro-Israeli groups both on campus and nationwide.

ASUC President Connor Landgraf acknowledged the issue’s presence on UC Berkeley’s campus but declined to comment on how the actions taken at UCSD and UC Riverside may affect divestment at UC Berkeley.

“I’m not really sure what the fallout will be,” Landgraf said. “There have definitely been murmurs of divestment (at UC Berkeley), but it remains to be seen how those pan out and what effect the UCSD resolution will have here.”

ASUC Senator Sadia Saiffudin said that she supports UC Riverside’s divestment move and would like to see similar action at UC Berkeley.

“I think that it will also open the doors to communication from all sides of the conversation,” she said in an email. “I think there will be a lot of dialogue about what it means to divest from a conflict zone and how students on campus are (affected) by these issues. It is time that we hold the UC Regents accountable to where our money and fees are invested.”


-END-


************************************************

Also:


"California BDS debate heats up: Riverside campus passes divestment measure as Stanford rejects the same"

MONDOWEISS (New York)
March 7, 2013
At: http://mondoweiss.net/2013/03/california-riverside-divestment.html


...The win at UC Riverside is the second recent divestment victory for BDS advocates in California. In November 2012, the UC Irvine student government unanimously passed a bill calling for divestment from a number of companies that assist the Israeli military and help build the separation barrier and illegal West Bank settlements.

The successful vote prompted the Irvine administration to say that “such divestment is not the policy of this campus, nor is it the policy of the University of California. The UC Board of Regents‘ policy requires this action only when the U.S. government deems it necessary. No such declaration has been made regarding Israel.” Local Jewish groups also weighed in and blasted the student resolution at UC Irvine.

UC President Mark Yudof, who is stepping down from his post in August, has similarly disavowed divestment, saying that "the isolation of Israel among all countries of the world greatly disturbs us and is of grave concern to members of the Jewish community."

Next week, it will be UC San Diego’s turn to vote on divestment. Their bill targets a number of companies and decries Israeli apartheid and “the continued human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.”

Last night, UC San Diego’s Associated Students met for another marathon debate session that was supposed to end in a vote, though a mix-up with security prevented the vote from taking place, according to the school newspaper. 200 students attended the meeting last night, with both SJP and Tritons for Israel giving public presentations on the topic.

“This marginalizes the Jewish students on campus and makes them feel unsafe and unwanted — passing a resolution that will have no actual effect besides making Jewish students on campus feel like they don’t belong is not okay,” one student in opposition to divestment said, according to a report in the school newspaper.

An SJP member said that “it’s a common misconception that divestment is too harsh and that we should just invest in Palestine instead. But Palestine’s economy is tightly controlled by Israel and heavily dependent on humanitarian aid, making it an unlikely candidate for growth through investment....”

************************************************

Divestment victory at the University of California-Riverside:

Another Student Government Enters the History of the Palestine Freedom Movement --


The student government at the University of California-Riverside has just voted overwhelmingly for divestment against Israeli Apartheid.

The vote was 11-5, and it overrode a veto that attempted to kill the divestment resolution.

This follows a recent vote for divestment at UC-Irvine's student government (in the L.A. Times at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/uc-irvine-student-leaders-urge-uc-to-divest-in-some-companies.html ).

It also follows earlier student government votes for divestment at:

 

* Evergreen State College in 2010 (http://electronicintifada.net/content/evergreen-state-students-overwhelmingly-pass-divestment-votes/1067 ),

 

* Wayne State University (at http://tinyurl.com/85r6um2 ),

 

* Arizona State University in 2012 (at http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-roundup-arizona-state-university-student-government-votes-divest-israel )

 

* The University of Michigan-Dearborn (at http://michigandaily.com/content/dearborn-student-govt-demands-divestment ),

 

* Carleton University graduate students in 2012 (at http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/canadian-first-carleton-university-students-pass-israel-occupation-divestment )

 

Also:

 

* The University of Wisconsin-Platteville faculty senate approved its own divestment resolution (at http://michigandaily.com/content/faculty-senate-wisc-passes-divestment-bill ), 

 

* MEChA, the largest association of Chicano youth in the U.S., voted overwhelmingly at its 2012 national conference to endorse the global call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel ( http://www.nationalmecha.org/archives/2012/03/national_mecha_endorses_palestinian_boycott_call_against_israel.php ),

 

* South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, voted to make boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel part of its official policy in December 2012 (at http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2012/12/anc-takes-firm-position-in-solidarity.html ), and

 

* The Olympia Food Co-op, in 2010, voted to boycott all Israeli products (at http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/21/1310754/israel-cleaned-from-co-op-shelves.html )

In these votes, every argument that apartheid could make was rejected. After all, the arguments favoring Apartheid Israel are identical to the arguments made to preserve the old dead Apartheid State of South Africa.

Furthermore, Apartheid South Africa was tighly allied to Apartheid Israel. (See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/feb/07/southafrica.israel )

Another divestment vote is coming at UC San Diego next week.
UCSD just adjourned their meeting following eight hours of divestment debate last night (see http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news-and-features/campus/item/26498-divestment-vote-postponed )

Here is the latest divestment news from UC-Riverside:

 

 .

 .

 

 

*****************************

 

Campaigns at Stanford University, and at UC-San Diego, to divest from the Israeli occupation of Palestine:

"Desmond Tutu: Why I support the call for Stanford University to divest from the Israeli occupation"

STANFORD DAILY (At Stanford University)

March 5, 2013

At: http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/03/05/why-i-support-the-call-for-stanford-university-to-divest-from-the-israeli-occupation/

To the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU)

Nelson Mandela once said: “We can easily be enticed to read reconciliation and fairness as meaning parity between justice and injustice. Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others face. Yet we would be less than human if we did so. It behooves all South Africans, themselves erstwhile beneficiaries of generous international support, to stand up and be counted among those contributing actively to the cause of freedom and justice.”

 

This is exactly why I see it as my moral obligation to stand up for Palestinian rights and to support Palestinian civil society’s nonviolent efforts to gain freedom, justice and equality.

Struggles for freedom and justice are fraught with huge moral dilemmas. How can we commit ourselves to virtue – before its political triumph – when such commitment may lead to ostracism from our political allies and even our closest partners and friends? Are we willing to speak out for justice when the moral choice that we make for an oppressed community may invite phone calls from the powerful or when possible research funding will be withdrawn from us? When we say “Never again,” do we truly mean “never again” or do we mean “never again to us”?

It is always inspiring when young people inspire the rest of us and lead the way in promoting international law and human rights for all humans. I have supported several U.S. campus campaigns to divest University money from companies that enable and profit from the injustice of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and violation of Palestinian human rights.

 

Principled stands like this, supported by a fast-growing number of U.S. civil society organizations and people of conscience, including prominent Jewish groups, are essential for a better world in the making. Based on the same principles, I support the call for Stanford University to divest from companies implicated in Israel’s brutal occupation and human rights violations.

 

 

No matter what detractors may allege, students pushing for divestment are doing the right thing. They are doing the moral thing. They are doing that which is incumbent on them as humans who believe that all people have dignity and rights, and that all those being denied their dignity and rights deserve the solidarity and support of their fellow human beings.

I have visited the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and I have witnessed the racially-segregated roads and housing that reminded me so much of the conditions we experienced in South Africa under the racist system of Apartheid. I have witnessed the humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children made to wait hours at Israeli military checkpoints routinely when trying to make the most basic of trips to visit relatives or attend school or college, and this humiliation is familiar to me and the many black South Africans who were corralled and regularly insulted by the security forces of the Apartheid government.

 

In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of nonviolent means – including boycotts and divestment – encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime. Students played a leading role in that struggle, and as I write these words of encouragement for student divestment efforts, I am well aware that it was students, including Stanford students, who played a pioneering role in advocating for equality in South Africa and promoting corporate ethical and social responsibility to end complicity in Apartheid.

 

The same issue of equality is what motivates today’s divestment movement, which tries to end Israel’s 45-year-long occupation and the unequal treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government ruling over them. The abuses they face are real, and no person should be offended by principled, morally consistent, nonviolent acts to oppose them. It is no more wrong to call out Israel in particular for its abuses than it was to call out the Apartheid regime in South Africa in particular for its abuses.

 

To those who wrongly allege unfairness or harm done to them by this call for divestment, I suggest, with humility, that the harm suffered from being confronted with opinions that challenge one’s own pales in comparison to the harm done by living a life under occupation and the daily denial of basic rights and dignity.

It is not with rancor that we criticize the Israeli government and call for divesting from its human rights violations but with hope – a hope that a better and more peaceful future can be made for both Israelis and Palestinians.

True peace must be anchored in justice and an unwavering commitment to universal rights for all humans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, national origin or any other identity attribute.

These students advocating today for divestment from Israel’s occupation are helping to pave that path to a just peace. I heartily endorse their divestment move, encourage them to stand firm on the side of what is right and urge others to follow their lead.

-- Desmond Tutu
Archbishop Emeritus and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

A divestment vote will also be held at the University of Califrnia - San Diego...

"UCSD Needs to Divest to Uphold Basic Human Rights and Help End Apartheid in Israel and Palestine"

In the UCSD GUARDIAN,
March 3, 2013
At: http://www.ucsdguardian.org/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/item/26480-ucsd-needs-to-divest-to-uphold-basic-human-rights-and-help-end-apartheid-in-israel-and-palestine

"...People with intimate knowledge of that oppressive system have deemed Israel an apartheid state. South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is a man who can credibly make the comparison. And he does: 'Israel becoming an apartheid state or like South Africa in its denial of equal rights is not a future danger, as three former Israeli prime ministers — Ehud Barak, Ehud Olmert and David Ben-Gurion — have warned, but a present-day reality.'

"Just as divestment was a tool that played a part in pressuring the apartheid government there, divestment can play a role in ending apartheid in Israel/Palestine. Divestment is a well-known nonviolent tool of resistance to destructive corporate practices that has historically been widely utilized by students such as with the current campaigns on university campuses to divest from fossil fuels.

"There are those who say this bill is divisive. All political issues are divisive. But already, UCSD is taking a side on this issue by having money invested in companies that are integral to maintaining the Israeli occupation. That is divisive. Our university, through its investment portfolio, has taken a position that is diametrically opposed to the human rights of Palestinians. Divesting would put UCSD on the side of human rights — and in solidarity with Palestinians and their allies, who have called for boycotting, divesting and sanctioning a country that has maintained a decades-old military occupation with no end in sight. Those allies also include a growing number of American and Israeli Jews who recognize the injustice of the status quo.

"Opponents claim that targeting companies with financial and research ties to UCSD will harm job projects for engineering students. Similar arguments were made to do nothing against apartheid South Africa and even in regard to ending Jim Crow discrimination in the American South. But human rights matter. The message we send with divestment is far more powerful than the miniscule possibility an engineering student will lose a job because of our conscientious efforts here.

"The tide is turning for the Palestinian Solidarity Movement. People are becoming more conscious, and it is clear that Israel’s policies are not sustainable. History has proven that walls fall, dictatorships end and oppressive regimes come crumbling down by the power of ordinary activists worldwide. It is time to take a stand for human rights. It is time to make history."

— Students for Justice in Palestine Officers 2012-2013

**************************************************

Boycotting Apartheid Israel, at 5 university campuses:

Boycott and divestment campaigns, against Israeli aggression, at 5 campuses -


* At Bowdoin College:
In the BOWDOIN ORIENT
Feb. 28, 2013

At: http://bowdoinorient.com/article/8051


"Several months ago I argued that Bowdoin should stop selling Sabra hummus in the C-Store. Sabra has become a target of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement because its mother company, the Strauss Group, materially and financially supports the Israeli military...

"...The toxic effects of political Zionism are evident in the colonial nature of the State of Israel, and in the State’s perpetuation of segregation and apartheid.... Why is there no discussion of the security of Palestinians?"


-----------------------------------------------

* At Cornell University:
In the CORNELL DAILY SUN
March 1, 2013

At: http://www.cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2013/03/01/new-york-city-coalition-decries-cornell-technion-partnership

Holding signs that read “Occupation is Illegal” and “No to Technion in NYC,” members of New Yorkers Against the Cornell-Technion Partnership say they plan to continue their protests of the Cornell Tech Campus’ partnership with an Israeli institution, according to the group’s leaders. -

-----------------------------------------------

* At Stanford University:

"Why should we invest in companies that we know cause social harm and violate the most sacrosanct of human rights?"
-- In the Stanford Daily, at http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/02/26/holding-stanford-accountable-ethical-investment-in-palestine/

-----------------------------------------------

* At UC San Diego

-- In the UCSD Gurdian, at http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news-and-features/campus/item/26456-council-addresses-divestment

-----------------------------------------------

* At the University of South Florida

"Group petitions for Palestinian resolution in SG senate", at http://www.usforacle.com/group-petitions-for-palestinian-resolution-in-sg-senate-1.2808222



*******************************