UC Berkeley Students Ask for
By Matt Krupnick
Contra Costa Times
March 19, 2010
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14704225?nclick_check=1
UC Berkeley student leaders voted early Thursday to
drop the student Senate's investments in companies
doing business with
The Senate, meeting into the early hours of the
morning, voted 16-4 to divest itself from
ask the
It was not immediately known whether the Senate had any
such investments. But the UC system invests millions in
funds that include General Electric and United
Technologies, which supply
equipment, said Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, a student senator
who co-wrote the bill.
The UC system, he said, should not support a country
that has committed human-rights abuses in the
Strip. The 10-campus university has divested itself of
tobacco- and Sudan-related funds.
The students' action was condemned by the
based
hypocritical and troubling, citing violence by
Palestinians. A UC spokesman said the university had
not yet seen the resolution and could not comment.
UC Berkeley Students Divest from Apartheid. Again.
__________________________
By Tom J
Daily
March 18, 2010
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/18/847498/-UC-Berkeley-Students-Divest-from-Apartheid.-Again.-
For the first time in the
history, the UC Berkeley Student Senate has
approved a bill to divest from two
response to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
territories and to
of the
UC Regents and the Student Government to divest
from General Electric and United Technologies.
General Electric manufactures Apache helicopter
engines; United Technologies manufactures Sikorsky
helicopters and F-16 aircraft engines. In addition,
the bill creates a task force to look into
furthering a socially responsible investment policy
for the UC system. --
Students for Justice in
The vote was expected to be close, but it ended up
being 16-4 in favor of divestment. I have not
interviewed the ASUC Senators who voted in favor, but i
can't help but think that they were influenced in part
by the now very obvious refusal of the Israeli
government to work toward any fair resolution of the conflict.
Student Senator Rahul Patel supported the bill,
declaring that "in the 1980s the Student Government
was a central actor in demanding that the
university divest from South African apartheid. 25
years later, it is a key figure in shaping a
nationwide movement against occupation and war
crimes around the world. Student Government can be
a space to mobilize and make decisions that have a
significant impact on the international community.
We must utilize these spaces to engage each other
about issues of justice worldwide."
The Senate deliberation, which started Wednesday
night, concluded at 3 am Thursday morning, March
18. The meeting was flooded with students,
educators, and community members, which prompted
the relocation of the Senate session from the
Senate Chambers to a larger room. The attendees
took turns making impassioned arguments for and
against the bill. The diverse list of guest
speakers included 76 names, ranging in age from
college freshmen to
amendments, the final bill passed on a 16-4 vote.
In addition to Israeli military action, the student
initiative was motivated by an 2005 call on behalf
of 171 Palestinian civil society organizations
calling on "people of conscience all over the world
to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment
initiatives against
complies with the precepts of international law."
According to Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, co-author of the
bill, "this vote is an historic step in holding all
state and corporate actors accountable for their
violations of basic human rights. The broad cross
section of the community that came out to demand
our university invest ethically belies the notion
that the American people will tolerate the
profiting from occupation or other human rights
abuses." Student Senator Emily Carlton, co-sponsor
of the bill, agreed, adding "this action will only
be historic if it is repeated throughout the
country and the world; I hope that student
governments all over
sign that the time to divest from war is now."
In 2009,
the first
companies directly involved in the Israeli
occupation of
was advocated by the group Students for Justice in
Trustees. Today, through its Student Senate bill,
UC Berkeley becomes the first large, public US
institution to endorse a similar measure.
UC Berkeley Students for Justice in
been working on a divestment campaign from entities
that profit from the occupation of
2000. UC Berkeley Law Students for Justice in
Palestine, founded in 2007, played a central role
in researching the legal issues and the
international laws pertaining to Israeli human
rights violations.
Divestment is the nonviolent tactic that won freedom
for the people of
public relations people said that "It is unfair to
single us out" and "this will hurt the people that you
are supposedly trying to help" and even as the
government at the time said it was better to have
"constructive engagement" with the government of South
steps". the call from the grassroots of
was overwhelming, however. Full Sanctions and
Divestment. Congressman Ron Dellums of
putting up a divestment bill from his very first year
in office in 1972, it got nowhere until 1986 when it
finally passed. What happen in those intervening years
was a massive movement was slowly building on the ground.
This is where we find ourselves today in winning
freedom for the people of
to the civil society of Palestinians themselves who are
committed to winning their liberation. Once again, UC
Berkeley students lead the way, but it won't stop
there. It is a global movement that is growing at a
pace that far exceeds what we saw in the early 80's
with
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/03/11757
IN the meantime, the apartheid regime in
digging in its heels. It is arresting activists who are
only participating in nonviolent protests. It has now
gone so far as to prohibit any travel by Israelis or
internationals to places of regular non-violent
protests in the
demolitions continue. The settlement building
continues. The military siege that is producing
deliberate malnutrition continues. More than ever we
must apply pressure from outside. Empty words will not
be enough. We must put corporate elites on notice that
doing business with an apartheid regime will bring a price.
Clarification: It should be noted that this is but one
step in a long process to get the UC system to divest.
It is a wonderful victory that needs to be followed by
many more.
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