SJP students and their allies are asking the University of Rochester to constructively review the University’s investments and to make decisions that ensure that the University is (1) remaining true to its values and (2) not complicit in human rights violations. The students are asking for two categories of divestment: financial and academic.
The students are adamant about their stance that they are not protesting against the Israeli people. Rather, they are protesting against the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestine and the ongoing military invasion that has resulted in over 34,000 deaths and millions of people at risk for starvation.
WHAT DOES ACADEMIC DIVESTMENT MEAN?:
This means that the University of Rochester will cease academic relationships with Israeli institutions to shine a spotlight on their complicity with the oppression of Palestinians. This means ending study abroad programs, academic partnership programs, and co-ops with Israeli institutions. It includes suspension o fall forms of funding and subsidies to these institutions. In a letter to the Faculty Senate on May 20, 2024, the UR Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) explained what academic divestment means and why they support it:
“Symbolically, divestment communicates that the UR is an institution which acts with moral clarity in times of crisis, and that American academia more generally refuses to be complicit in the regime of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing which, in its most recent manifestation, has already led to the complete destruction of every single university in Gaza. Materially, divestment puts pressure on Israeli academic institutions which are major players in the continued oppression of Palestinians.
Many Israeli colleges and universities are heavily involved in developing weapons systems and military doctrines used in Israeli war crimes, justifying and rationalizing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and, in many cases, discriminating against non-Jewish students and faculty. Boycotts are intended to remain in effect until each boycotted institution takes an active role in opposing the Israeli occupation and is extending equal rights to Palestinians.
We have heard concerns that academic boycotting is a threat to academic freedom. It is our (JVP) position that there are few if any greater threats to academic freedom than bombs dropping on universities.”
WHAT DOES FINANCIAL DIVESTMENT MEAN?
Like Academic Divestment, this means that the University of Rochester will review its financial portfolio and remove all investments in Israeli organizations that are complicit in the oppression of Palestinians.
SJP students are adamant about their stance that they are not protesting against the Israeli people. Rather, they are protesting against the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestine and the ongoing military invasion that has resulted in over 34,000 deaths and millions of people at risk for starvation.
PRECEDENT at the UNIVERSITY of ROCHESTER:
The University of Rochester Divests from South Africa as part of anti-apartheid movement
In 1987, UR students joined the city of Rochester’s anti-apartheid movement by building a shantytown in front of Rush Rhees and demanding that the UR divest in South African companies who supported human rights violations. Five days after the shantytown was erected, the Board of Trustees made the unanimous decision to liquidate all pertinent stocks by June 30, 1988. The students vowed to maintain the shantytown until the university’s divestment was complete. They eventually moved out in December 1987 after the University agreed to expedite the process.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: CONTEXT for DIVESTMENT
SJP students have provided a Bibliography of resources that provide additional context for divestment:
Palestine, Academics in Solidarity with. “TECHNION EXPOSED: Israel Technology Institute’s Links with the IDF.” Medium (blog), February 6, 2024.https://medium.com/@phds4palestine/technion-exposed-israel-technology-institutes-links-with-the-idf-caffae135923.
“Israel’s Universities Are a Key Part of Its Apartheid Regime.” Accessed May 6, 2024. https://jacobin.com/2024/02/israel-universities-palestine-apartheid-academia.
“The History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Accessed May 6, 2024. https://secdip.tau.ac.il/secdip/Arab-Israeli-Conflict.
“Terror, Counter-Terrorism, and Moral Dilemmas.” Accessed May 6, 2024. https://secdip.tau.ac.il/secdip/Moral-Dilemmas.
“Corporate Partners : CEIS : University of Rochester.” Accessed May 6, 2024. https://www.ceis.rochester.edu/collaboration/corporate.html.
“Meet the Companies Profiting From Israel’s War on Gaza | Common Dreams.” Accessed May 6, 2024.https://www.commondreams.org/news/weapons-used-by-israel.
“200 Workers Block Access to Toronto Weapons-Maker L3Harris | ColumbusFreePress.Com.” Accessed May 6, 2024. https://columbusfreepress.com/article/200-workers-block-access-toronto-weapons-maker-l3harris.
BDS Movement. “Academic Boycott,” June 15, 2016. https://bdsmovement.net/academic-boycott.