"Divestment Resolution Passed" at University of Michigan - Dearborn Student Government

Divestment Resolution Passed


Thursday, 25 February 2010

On the Web at: http://info.umdunderground.org/



University of Michigan - Dearborn Student Government


General Assembly Resolution # 2010-003




Whereas, this wise body has been known to be one of strong moral and social conscience and has in the past supported justice and international law, and



Whereas, U.N General Assembly Resolution 194 resolves that the Holy Places - including Nazareth - religious buildings and sites in Palestine should be protected and free access to them assured, in accordance with existing rights and historical practice, and



Whereas, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194 further resolves that all refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be provided for the destroyed properties of those choosing not to return and for loss of, or damage to property that under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible, and



Whereas, the aforementioned situations prove that Israel clearly and inexcusably is in continued violation of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194, and



Whereas, Israel is further in violation of many related U.N. resolutions, including Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, and 446, and



Whereas, Israel is further in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which calls on all occupying powers to protect the rights and well-being of the occupied population, and



Whereas, the U.N.’s own assessment, the Goldstone Report, found evidence of potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, and



Whereas, University of Michigan Regent policy, as expressed in their meeting of March 16, 1978, states:


“If the Regents shall determine that a particular issue involves serious moral or ethical questions which are of concern to many members of the University community, an advisory committee consisting of members of the University Senate, students, administration and alumni will be appointed to gather information and formulate recommendations for the Regents’ consideration.”; and


Whereas, there are serious moral and ethical questions concerning the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and


Whereas, the University is known to have several million dollars of investment in corporations that sell weapons, goods, and services to Israel—including BAE, Raytheon, Boeing, General Electric, United Technologies, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman, among others–whom in turn uses the weapons, goods, and services inhumanely and


Whereas, any University investments in entities contributing to human rights violations by either Israelis or Palestinians is inappropriate,



THEREFORE be it Resolved, (1) that the University of Michigan-Dearborn Student Government will lead a movement to collect petition signatures calling on the Board of Regents to form such an advisory committee, and


Be it further Resolved, (2) that the University of Michigan-Dearborn Student Government calls on the Board of Regents to create an advisory committee to determine if any University investments are questionable and in need of appropriate corrective actions, and


Be it further Resolved, (3) that on behalf of the students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, we will urge this committee to recommend immediate divestment from companies that are directly involved in the ongoing illegal occupation, because we deem these investments to be profoundly unethical and in direct conflict with the mission of this University




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Scandal at Ann Arbor City Council:Why Did Council appoint Friend of the Israel Defense Forces as Human Rights Commissioner?

The City Council meeting can be viewed on-line at:

http://a2govtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=4fcedd0668fe352db89d130daf672587

For the third time, the Ann Arbor City Council was forced to endure questions about why it appointed Neal Elyakin, a Friend of the Israel Defense Forces, to the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission.

Under questioning, the entire City Council, and the Mayor, were dead silent.

That was the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council on February 16, 2010.

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"Appointing a Friend of the Israel Defense Forces to the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission (AAHRC) is like spitting in the face of humanity!"

"What is Ann Arbor City Council saying to half a million Michigan Arabs and Muslims?"

by Mozhgan Savabieasfahani

AnnArbor.com

February 9, 2010

http://www.annarbor.com/community/community_wall/what_is_ann_arbor_city_council_saying_to_half_a_million_michigan_arabs_and_muslims/

Appointing a Friend of the Israel Defense Forces to the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission (AAHRC) is like spitting in the face of humanity!

When I first arrived in AA, I was thrilled to know that the city had a Human Rights Commission which had unanimously passed a resolution to "end U.S. Military Support for Israel” (2003).

Since then, Israel has committed repeated crimes against humanity and the environment (Israel killed 1300 Lebanese in 2006; and killed 1400 Palestinians in Gaza last year, while Palestinians killed 3 Israelis). Such acts have finally culminated in Amnesty International calling Israel a war criminal.

However, in Ann Arbor, Neal Elyakin, a Friend of the Israel Defense Forces, has been appointed to the Human Rights Commission by the City Council. What is Ann Arbor City Council really saying, to half a million Michigan Arabs and Muslims?

Israel and the U.S. have killed millions of Muslims in the last decade alone. The U.S. and Israel are militarily occupying over 50 million Arabs and Muslims. More U.S./Israeli wars will only destroy life. Boycotting Israel is saying NO to global militarism; and voting for a world without war.

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1 Comment:

That is the question:

What is Ann Arbor City Council really saying to half a million Michigan Arabs and Muslims?

The same Human Rights Commission used to demand sanctions against Israel, and inspired other Ann Arborites to do the same:

http://dearbornboycottsisrael.blogspot.com/2010/02/city-campus-victories-in-fight-to.html

Now look what the City Council has done to the Human Rights Commission.

It's unbelievable that they would appoint a Friend of the Israel Defense Forces to sit on it. What is their explanation?

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Resolution: "BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the State of Minnesota shall divest from all Israel Bonds investments."

"Support Minnesota Break the Bonds"

by Fedwa Wazwaz

February 2, 2010

In the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's "Your Voices" section, at:

http://www.startribune.com/yourvoices/83333222.html

...In Minnesota, a group of people came together to form the Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign. This campaign aims to request that the State of Minnesota divest from all Israeli Bonds investments. Divestment is an ethical way to pressure Israel, or any nation in violation of human rights to comply with International Law.

Minnesota Break the Bonds team invites fellow Minnesotans to support the campaign tonight. To find where your precinct caucuses are, go to the Minnesota Secretary of State website, and look up where your political party of choice is meeting in your area. Then, go to the party's website to find a form for presenting a resolution, and fill it in with what is below:

The Resolution

WHEREAS, Israel has consistently defied rulings by the international court of justice, more than 65 UN Resolutions, and the Fourth Geneva Convention;

WHEREAS, Israel's apartheid system has caused thousands of civilian deaths, including children, and widespread human rights violations;

WHEREAS, Israel annually receives billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars as aid;

WHEREAS, the U.S has a history of divesting from countries that commit human rights abuses;

WHEREAS, Minnesota has divested from Iran and Sudan for their human rights abuses.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the State of Minnesota shall divest from all Israel Bonds investments.

For more information, contact: mn@breakthebonds.org and let us know how the precincts went!

City & campus victories, in the fight to boycott the apartheid state of Israel:

"Resolution in Support of Ending U.S. Military Support for Israel"

Approved unanimously by the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission.

See news coverage, below right (From the January-February 2004 ICPJ newsletter) --

The Human Rights Commission urged Ann Arbor City Council to also approve this Resolution.

Click on the Resolution to enlarge it.

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"Arms Divestment and Cessation of U.S. Military Aid to Israel"

A resolution of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and its MiddleEast Task Force

Adopted May 13, 2003

http://peacepalestinedocuments.blogspot.com/2006/01/approaches-to-economic-engagement.html

As persons of faith who believe in the equal worth and dignity of all people, we are distressed that Israelis and Palestinians have become locked in an escalating cycle of violence. We categorically condemn the taking of any life, Israeli or Palestinian. We are convinced that only the end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a geographically and economically viable independent Palestinian state can bring peace to the Middle East and achieve the goal of two nation-states -- Israel andPalestine -- living peaceably side-by-side, with equality and security, possibly in a confederation.

We have long been dismayed by threats to the existence of Israel. We areequally dismayed by the continual military occupation and virtual colonization of Palestinian territory by Israeli armed forces and settlers,the human rights abuses against Palestinians, and the destruction of the Palestinian economy. Devastation of the physical and social infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza -- including the forcible eviction from anddemolition of homes -- does not quell terrorism. It engenders more.

Such actions fuel deeper hatred of Israel in surrounding countries, while causing a major humanitarian disaster among Palestinians. And they leave Palestinians continually vulnerable to expulsion from the land in which they have been deeply rooted for generations. U.S. weapons and military funding are being used in these violations of human rights andinternational agreements. Americans of conscience must protest.

We do not have faith that governments alone will take the necessary actions to bring about a change in the Israeli government policies described above. We therefore believe that nonviolent civilian action is needed, aiming tolimit the present intense funding of Israeli military activities.

Accordingly, we will work with those groups who are calling on the governing bodies of our religious institutions, the City of Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan, and our fellow citizens

* to use their influence to encourage the United States government to end its complicity in these violations of human rights by suspending it smilitary aid and arms sales to Israel, and

* to divest themselves from all companies that manufacture or sell arms and other military hardware to Israel, in order to bring about:

* Israel's compliance with United Nations Resolution 242, which calls for "the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in therecent (1967) conflict";

* Israel's compliance with the United Nations Committee Against TortureNov. 2001 Report (paragraph 53), which recommends that Israel's use of "thecrime of torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment" must be prevented;

* Israel's cessation of settlement building and expansion, and itsvacating of existing settlements in the Occupied Territories in compliancewith the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states "The Occupying Power shallnot deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." (Article 49, paragraph 6, 1949);

* Israel's acknowledgment of the applicability of United NationsResolution 194 (1948) with respect to the rights of refugees, andacceptance that refugees should either be permitted to return to theirhomes and property or be justly compensated for their losses.

This statement is derived from multiple sources, including severaluniversity divestment petitions; and from members of the Middle East TaskForce of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and thePalestine-Israel Action Group of Ann Arbor Friends Meeting.

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"Call for Peace in the Middle East"

by "Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace", which later changed its name to "Michigan Peaceworks")--

[This Resolution calls for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel until the Occupation ends and the settlements are dismantled]

See below:

http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2004/07/39754.html

Preamble: The Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace recognizes that theconflict in Palestine/Israel is an issue of great concern in our community,around which emotions often outweigh objectivity.

We do not wish to contribute to the discord, but rather to unify people around common goalsof nonviolence and fairness. Our organization formed shortly after 9-11-01 to address issues of peace, civil liberties, and civil rights-particularly how these issues would be affected by the U.S. government military response to the 9-11 attacks. We consider a peaceful resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to be an important element in curtailing the cycle of violence worldwide.

Statement: Over the past two years, we have witnessed in grief and anguishthe appalling destruction resulting from the spiral of violence in theMiddle East. Violence will only beget further violence. We condemn in the strongest terms the practices that bring about the deaths of innocent people and the destruction of communities.

Fortunately, there are many who work for peaceful resolution of theconflict. These people and organizations give hope that future generationsof Israelis and Palestinians can live normal, secure lives, in peace witheach other. We support the Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers, including the Bereaved Families for Peace, who call on their fellow citizens torenounce violence. We support the Israeli soldiers who refuse to serve inthe occupied territories. We support those from Israel and other countrieswho work with Palestinians to rebuild destroyed homes. We support the efforts of those states and organizations that have made proposals for a just peace, including the member states of the Arab League, which hascalled for normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for creationof a Palestinian state and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

In solidarity with all those working for peace in the Middle East, we call for the following:

* An immediate end to the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank, Gaza,and East Jerusalem;

* An immediate end to the violence on both sides, recognizing violenceas including Occupation, military incursions, and suicide bombings;

* A full evacuation of all settlements with the exception of minornegotiated border adjustments;

* A just settlement for the refugees who have been forced by war toleave homes in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza;

* Establishment of the state of Palestine side by side with the stateof Israel with the boundaries established by UN Resolution 242;

* Social and economic justice and full legal rights for all citizens of both states;

* A major international effort to assist the reconstruction of Palestine;

* An end to U.S. military aid to Israel until the Occupation ends and the settlements are dismantled;

* Negotiations towards arms control and disarmament of weapons of massdestruction for the entire region;

* Recognition of and normalization of relations with Israel by all thecountries of the Middle East.

Adopted by the Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace on November 11, 2002

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Resolution To Divest, In Principle And Practice, From Israel

by the National Lawyers Guild (NLG)

http://peacepalestinedocuments.blogspot.com/2006/01/approaches-to-economic-engagement.html

(Adopted by NLG National Convention 10/24/04)

WHEREAS the Israeli government with its illegal occupation and expansionist program in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip is engaged, and has been engaged in grave human rights violations including but not limited to:

the use of live ammunition on unarmed civilians (including men, women, and children);

massive and disproportionate use of force including the firing of missiles from Apache helicopter gunships against defenseless civilian populations;

illegal mass arrests and institutionalized torture (including men, women, and children); the willful destruction of agricultural land;

the deprivation of water;

forced malnutrition with concomitant health consequences including stillborn deaths and irreversible developmental damage to children;

the mass demolition of homes and confiscation of land;

hostage taking and extra-judicial assassinations;

denial of medical services to the sick and wounded;

the use of human shields (including children);

the targeting of schools, and hospitals;

the building of illegal fortified "Jewish-only" Israeli colonies/settlements on confiscated land connected by "Jewish-only" bypass roads, and the heavily subsidized transfer of hundreds of thousands of its own civilian population into these colonies/settlements;

WHEREAS the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel's Apartheid Wall violates international humanitarian law which governs Israel's administration of the Palestinian territories it has occupied since 1967 as well as the fundamental human rights of the Palestinians;

WHEREAS by virtue of, but not limited to, the Principles of the Nuremberg Charter and Judgment;

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights;

International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights;

The Geneva Conventions, in particular, but not limited to the 4th Geneva Convention, the Convention Against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Protocol 1, Additional to the Geneva Conventions, as well as other international covenants and the general humanitarian principles of international law,

these acts constitute war crimes, and in some cases crimes against humanity.

WHEREAS, the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 22 USC sec. 2304, provides that "no security assistance may be provided to any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights;"

WHEREAS, the UN General Assembly on October 22, 2003, reaffirming the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, and …. reiterating its opposition to settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories almost unanimously, with the exception of the US, Israel,...

BE IT RESOLVED that the NLG seeks, in principal and practice, to support national and international campaigns to divest from Israel…and (a) support divestment campaigns to make full public disclosure of any and all investments it or other institutions have in Israel and of any and all profits earned from companies invested in Israel, and (b) either immediately divest from those companies, or cause such companies to disinvest from Israel until all of the following conditions are met:

1. Withdraw armed forces;

2. Permit interested refugees to return to their homes and compensate the rest;

3.End torture;

4.Vacate all Jewish-only settlement/colonies;

5.Compensate all Palestinian victims.

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"University of Sussex students vote to boycott Israeli goods"
November 27, 2009


http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/paper/index.php?article=4378

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"Faculty senate in Wisc. passes divestment bill"


http://www.michigandaily.com/content/faculty-senate-wisc-passes-divestment-bill

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"Dearborn student gov't demands divestment"

"The student government at the University's Dearborn campus last week unanimously passed a resolution calling for the University's Board of Regents to vote to divest from Israel."

Reported in the Michigan Daily, at:

http://www.michigandaily.com/content/dearborn-student-govt-demands-divestment

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"Dearborn student govt. pushes for Israel divestment"

http://www.michigandaily.com/content/dearborn-student-govt-pushes-israel-divestment

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* "The Wayne State University Student Council voted for total divestment from Israel."


http://dearbornboycottsisrael.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html

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Call to divest from Israeli Occupation, by Howard University's faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences

http://www.jai-pal.org/content.php?page=501

"Prominent call for divestment at Howard"

by: Will Youmans - The Arab American News

17th, March 2007

Activists calling for ending financial support for Israel welcomed a victory at a university in Washington, DC. The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences at Howard University voted overwhelmingly to call on the university's board of trustees to divest from Israel.

The faculty at this historically Black institution came down with a 25 to 2 vote in favor of divestment, beginning with the identification of university "funds that are being invested in 'offending' companies that are offering material support to Israeli Occupation."

The March 8th call was introduced by David Schwartzman, a biology professor of Jewish origin. He told "The Arab American News," there was not much opposition, except by the college's Dean, who refused to put divestment on the agenda. He plans on introducing a similar resolution to the faculty Senate this spring.

He sponsored the measure in the hope that "these resolutions start spreading around the country and generate action comparable to the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s."

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Zionist Hell: Neal Elyakin is your new Human Rights Commissioner

Photo: Hundreds of Ann Arborites demand divestment against Israel, as Israel massacres Lebanon, 2006.

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Do you live in Ann Arbor, Michigan? Neal Elyakin, a Friend of the Israel Defense Forces, was recently appointed as your new Human Rights Commissioner, by the Ann Arbor City Council.

The Israel Defense Forces recently massacred 1400 occupied Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (Palestinians killed 3 Israelis.)

So what is the City Council's concept of human rights? Do they regard Palestinians as human, or not?

Zionist hell: Gag Rule enforced by Ann Arbor News Media

The only sizeable newspaper in Ann Arbor, called "AnnArbor.com", carries detailed accounts of public commentary at Ann Arbor City Council. Yet the first time Elyakin's appointment was criticized at City Council, that newspaper printed nothing about it. The second time, the paper printed nothing again-- and the paper's reporter was sitting just a few feet away from Elyakin in the City Council chambers.

The paper even deleted the three articles it had already published which opposed Israeli and U.S. wars on the Muslim world. Since that time, the paper has never published anything against Israel on-line.

Meanwhile, the same newspaper carries warnings to report suspicious characters to the police as potential "terrorists".

Ann Arbor collaborators with the Zionist Holocaust

Israel and the U.S. have murdered millions of Muslims in the last decade alone, and millions more in previous decades. Do you remember their wars and starvation sanctions against Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, and more? It's been a Holocaust against Muslims.

When the media gags the news, about the Israeli-American massacre of the Muslim world, then that media is collaborating with a Holocaust.

That kind of gag tells you what Muslim life is worth to the newspaper in question-- less than zero.

The Zionist Holocaust kills a Detroit Imam

Question: Just how little is Muslim life worth, to the government?

Answer: A half-hour away from Ann Arbor, the FBI recently shot a Detroit Imam 20 times.

The FBI's 20 bullets included three shots in the genital area, and a bullet in the back.

Dr. Carl Schmidt, Wayne County's chief medical examiner, said that the Imam's body was handcuffed and on the floor of a semitrailer when his investigator arrived at the shooting scene. The Imam's body also had a broken jaw.

Meanwhile, the FBI reportedly had their police dog, "Freddy", airlifted for medical attention. Later, FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold told the news media that the FBI would hold a memorial for Freddy, and will add his name to a memorial wall.

Yes, at a time when the median home price in Detroit has fallen to $6000, and under half of Detroit males graduate from high school, the U.S. government spends trillions to occupy and butcher Iraq, Afghanistan, and other Muslim nations. The U.S. government also devoted years to investigating and then shooting dead a Detroit Imam whose chief preoccupation was feeding hungry children.

Zionist Hell: Detroit Schoolchildren Get Nothing, while Israel Gets $300 Billion

When will you demand a resolution to Congress, demanding that Congress stop giving $300 billion to Israel, and start spending that $300 billion to rebuild Detroit?

When will you start marching on your City Council, to make sure they boycott Israel?

When will you demand some answers, when your City Council appoints a Friend of the Israel Defense Forces to your Human Rights Commission?

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