Georgetown, Divest! wants GU dollars out of harmful companies in Israel
Posted by: Molly Redden in News, Vox Populi, tags: Georgetown, Georgetown Divest!, Georgetown Solidarity Committee, Students for Justice in Palestine
A new group that is made up of several student clubs at Georgetown is pushing the University administration to selectively divest in companies that perpetuate human rights abuses in Israel and Palestine or profit from the Israelis’ presence in Palestine.
Georgetown, Divest!, which includes clubs like Georgetown Student for Justice in Palestine, Georgetown Solidarity Committee, the Muslim Students Association, and Buddhist Meditation Sangha, according to the group’s Facebook page, will kick off their campaign next Tuesday with a panel including several Georgetown professors and a “a public presentation about Georgetown’s moral obligation to divest from companies that profit from human rights violations and the unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory,” according to a press release from the coalition.
Divest! has already gotten at least one response from the Georgetown administration to their demands. During spring break, Assistant Vice President for Business Policy Planning LaMarr Billups e-mailed the group a letter then Georgetown, Divest! said is “vague” and “does not adequately address the concerns of the group.” In the letter, which Divest! has posted on their blog, Billups clarifies University investment policy.
Members of Divest! will also meet with administrators today. Citing students’ historical success in pressuring Georgetown to divest from Sudan during the Darfur crisis and South Africa during apartheid, Georgetown, Divest! says it will make Georgetown a “relevant player in this grassroots movement for change. SJP encourages the Board of Trustees to acknowledge Georgetown’s commitment to social justice and human rights.”
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Georgetown, Divest! is asking the university to divest, or not invest in the future, from companies operating in Israel and Palestine that violate international law, International Court of Justice decisions, UN resolutions, and human rights. This doesn’t mean taking “university dollars out of Israel”, but from individual companies that perpetuate the human rights abuses in the region. Companies from many nations (USA, Israel, Palestine, Netherlands, etc) profit from these violations, not just Israeli companies.
They should chain themselves to John Carroll’s statue, that usually seems to work
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[...] Nick had a strategy suggestion for members of Georgetown, Divest! who want Georgetown to divest from select companies in Israel and Palestine: “They should chain themselves to John Carroll’s statue, that usually seems to work.” [...]
[...] a result of discussions between members of Georgetown’s Investment Office and students from Georgetown, Divest!, the group that is pressuring Georgetown to divest from companies that profit from the Israeli [...]
[...] will re-emerge this semester to oppose the University investment policies, after attempting to end practices last semester that allegedly violate the University’s Catholic and Jesuit [...]