Why we are calling on the University of Minnesota to divest

On February 15th, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Minnesota launched UMN Divest. This campaign calls on our University to take an active role in ensuring that we are not complicit in violations of international law. Our campaign brings forth a resolution to our student government that calls on our University to divest from corporations that profit off of human rights violations.

We target four particular companies: G4S, Elbit Systems, Raytheon, and Caterpillar. These companies provide the tools and equipment that enable Israel to maintain its occupation of the Palestinian people. UMN Divest calls on our university to divest from these companies and to ensure that we don’t invest in them in the future.

This resolution is not here to condemn a country, to target a people, or to determine a political solution to the Palestine/Israel conflict. This resolution is simply asking our University to work towards financial neutrality and to refuse to be complicit in violations of international law.

Our University has previously divested from South Africa and Sudan for their role in violations of international law. We as students see it as a responsibility to hold our University accountable to the standard that it has set for itself in standing against human rights violations. We ask that our University work to adhere to our Social Responsibility Investments clause. We also seek more transparency in our public institution’s financial activities.

We are proud to go to such a prestigious institution – one that is dedicated to progressing and improving itself. We ask that it continue this progress and divest from unethical companies profiting off of Israeli human rights violations of Palestinian people.

The UMN Divest resolution was presented to the University of Minnesota student government on Tuesday, March 1st. The resolution will be voted on to determine if it will be passed on March 8th.

Attacks on the Campaign

SJP launched our divestment campaign on February 15th with the graphic above. We included the olive branch as a symbol of Palestinian heritage (calling back to traditional Palestinian olive tree groves) and as a sign of peace.

We are sad to say that we have received news that it has been defaced in a very offensive manner:

Screenshot: Academic Engagement Network Facebook page.

Screenshot: Academic Engagement Network Facebook page.

Caption:

2016
THE PREMIER JEW HATING GROUP ON YOUR CAMPUS
SJPMN.COM
(we make hating jews cool)

This was posted by the Academic Engagement Network (AEN). The AEN was founded by Mark Yudof, a former president of both the University of California and the University of Minnesota. They imply in their post that it was made by SSI, Students Supporting Israel, at the University of Minnesota. SSI president, Sami Rahamim, reached out to us and has denied involvement in the creation of this graphic. It is not currently confirmed who made this obscene picture.

The use of the swastika on our divestment logo is a prime example of the backlash and attacks that Palestine advocates have to face. Legitimate criticism of Israel is often met with fierce accusations of anti-semitism. Members of SJP, and those who support them, are attacked with hateful words, smear campaigns, and intimidation tactics.

This attack on UMN divest is an attack on everybody who supports the campaign. This includes the members of SJP, the 35 groups that have sponsored our resolution, and the faculty who have placed their professional careers and personal safety on the line. Many of our supporters fear for both their reputation, and more importantly, for their safety.

This triggering image evokes a violent history and is also an attack on the Jewish community. This includes the group of Jewish students who support our resolution and the call for divestment. They are subjected to the same hatred and abuse we are.

Anti-Semitism is violence, discrimination, or hatred against Jewish people. We strongly stand against it and other forms of oppression. Advocating for human rights is not anti-semitic. We speak what we know to be true from the reports written by the UN, by Human Rights Watch, by Amnesty International, by B’tselem, and by the US State department reports. We speak from Palestinian student’s experiences in Palestine. We speak out about a people’s oppression under an occupation.

We should not be attacked for speaking out against oppression. We should not be demonized as Nazis for asking our university to support human rights. We should not be targeted and wrongly labeled as anti-semites because we advocate for Palestinian rights.

These attacks are an attempt to scare us away from our work. We ask our campus community, and community at large to stand against this fear-mongering.

Even in the face of hatred, we will continue to stand up for the oppressed and to get our University to stand on the right side of history.

#UMNDivest

Source Article from http://mondoweiss.net/2016/03/why-we-are-calling-on-the-university-of-minnesota-to-divest/

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