The Indypendent e-news
February 12, 2009
[Editor's Note] Since July 2005, a coalition of Palestinian groups has called on "people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era". On Feb. 7, Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts became the first U.S. institution of higher learning to divest in companies that directly profit from Israel's rule over the Occupied Territories. Below is a press release that went out earlier today from Students for Justice In Palestine, a campus group that led the divestment effort.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hampshire College becomes first college in U.S. to divest from Israeli
Occupation!
Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or
university in the U.S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement
in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the
campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured
Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to
human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and
alumni have signed SJP’s “institutional statement” calling for the divestment.
The proposal put forth by SJP was approved on Saturday, 7 Feb 2009 by the Board.
By divesting from these companies, SJP believes that Hampshire has distanced
itself from complicity in the illegal occupation and war crimes of Israel.
Meeting minutes from a committee of Hampshire’s Board of Trustees confirm that
“President Hexter acknowledged that it was the good work of SJP that brought this
issue to the attention of the committee.”
This groundbreaking decision follows in Hampshire’s history of being the first college in the country to divest from
apartheid South Africa thirty-two years ago, a decision based on similar human
rights concerns. This divestment was also a direct result of student pressure.
The divestment has so far been endorsed by Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Rashid
Khalidi, Vice President of the EU Parliament Luisa Morganitini, Cynthia McKinney,
former member of the African National Congress Ronnie Kasrils, Mustafa Barghouti,
Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, John Berger, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, and
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, among others.
The six corporations, all of which provide the Israeli military with equipment and
services in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza are: Caterpillar, United Technologies,
General Electric, ITT Corporation, Motorola, and Terex (see attached info sheet for
more information on these corporations.) Furthermore, our policy prevents the
reinvestment in any company involved in the illegal occupation.
SJP is responding to a call from Palestinian civil society for Boycott, Divestment,
and Sanctions (BDS) as a way of bringing non-violent pressure to bear on the state of
Israel to end its violations of international law. SJP is following in the footsteps of
many noted groups and institutions such as the National Association of Teachers in
Further and Higher Education in the UK, the Israeli group Gush Shalom, the
Congress of South African Trade Unions, the Canadian Union of Public Employees,
and the American Friends Service Committee.
As well as voicing our opposition to the illegal occupation and the consistent human
rights violations of the Palestinian people, we as members of an institute of higher
education see it as our moral responsibility to express our solidarity with
Palestinian students whose access to education is severely inhibited by the Israeli
occupation.
SJP has proven that student groups can organize, rally and pressure their schools to
divest from the illegal occupation. The group hopes that this decision will pave the
way for other institutions of higher learning in the U.S. to take similar stands.
Please email hampshiresjp@mail.com to schedule a phone interview.
Comments
Thanks so much for your support! one correction: the e-mail address is hampshiresjp@gmail.com
I remember when this seemed impossible even at Hampshire. Congratulations and well done to all of you. I'm so proud to be a Hampshire graduate today!
This good news is giving the rest of us “Hope” that persistent individuals can make a difference. Thanks to all the students and college administrators. We proceed to the next college with our goal to “hold on to the truth” until the occupation in Palestine ends. Congratulations
The actual reasons for the College's new investment policies can be found here, by a statement from the Board of Trustees: http://www.hampshire.edu/news/11271.htm
When Hampshire College first divested from Apartheid South Africa years ago, the Administration did what it could to distance itself from the situation then, too, with then-President Adele Simmons calling it a “big non-issue.”
The Administration may be making this PR move to salvage its own reputation, but the truth is that divestment from these corporations was the result of a 2-year campaign by Students for Justice in Palestine that centered around six corporations because of their involvement in the Israeli Occupation. This is not about divestment from Israel, but from the Israeli Occupation. And it is the result of a student movement that has been in the works for years, and an intensive, specific campaign that has been in the works for two.
Thanks for the memories, Hampshire Student!! I went to Hampshire a few years after the Apartheid divestment, but I do recall her dismissive statements.
The Trustees put out a very mealy-mouthed statement minimizing the effect of SJP. That brought back memories, too, if you get my drift!
Hampshire Student, that's very interesting that the administration tried to backpedal after the S. Africa divestment too. Do you know if it's possible to find Adele Simmon's complete statement(s) regarding the S. Africa divestment from back then? I
Finally an institution of higher learning standing up for what is right and ethical. I only wish that other institutions had the integrity to do the same.
Congratulation, islamofascism won and America now officially enters a democratic islamofascism era, as Germany in 1930's when Hitler was democratically elected a chancellor. By the way, this decision violates the US anti-boycott law and can lead to serious legal problems for college administration.
I have no connection to this college, BUT I AM IMPRESSED by the results.
Way to go, good and reasonable people everywhere will follow suit. Divest from a criminal regime who is bent on destroying lives.
You are a sad man, Mark Bernadiner. First off, you are completely wrong about any possible anti-boycott laws violations. This is a boycott of Israel’s occupation and not of Israel. Second, Palestine has a significant amount of Christians being oppressed as well. Palestinian is not a religion it is a nationality. So there is no connection between what you call "islamofascism," a term ironically created by fascist, and Israel's illegal, oppressive occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. And YES, Israel occupies Gaza. Thank you, SJP. Keep up the good work.
Hey Folks ::
The administration doesn't speak for the student movement that has won this divestment.
http://www.hsjp.org/voices-of-divestment/
http://voicesofdivestment.wordpress.com/
ktk
here is a link to Hampshire's publicly accessible history of the divestment in '77: http://www.hampshire.edu/archives/3406.htm
you can see pretty clearly in this history the roots of our problem with the administration today. the policy of socially responsible investment that was established is one of of renunciation, not of social activism.
It's interesting to notice that no matter how many times it's pointed out that the administration of Hampshire College has vigorously denied that this decision has anything to do with Israel, that divestment supporters continue to simply ignore this clearly verifiable truth and blithely congratulate the university for doing something it has stated in no uncertain terms that it did NOT do.
This strange behavior is understandable if you realize that divestment supporters are interested only in tricking an institution - any institution - into taking an action that they can portray as being in lock step with their agenda: to tie the legacy of Hampshire College (in this case) to their narrow, partisan message. This mission alone is what is important to them, with truth and the reputation of places like Hampshire simply irrelevant to their single-minded agenda.
It seems that Islamonazis and their prseudo-liberal supporters got the upper hand in Hampshire College. Now it's about time for all decent academics around the world to boycott this college.
Well Done Hampshire College! You are making ripples in a sea of mis information and anti Palestinian propaganda. Lest hope others join in and we can make waves.
Support from the UK.
Israel is going bankrupt. This is not about your misconception of Islam, it is a humanity grassroots issue. Anticipated is the backlash typical of Zionist apologists towards truth and justice concerning Palestine. The high ranking officials are the most targeted and this College's are no exception. Your hollow rhetoric is being rendered defenseless.
Don't bother about zionist's blind remarks, your dignified decision is hopefully followed by many more courageous students like you.
Is it true that Chapter 8 of the Palestinian constitution says that its is the national duty of Palestinians to kill Jews both in Israel and in the USA ?
Dennis
Good for Hampshire college and all who worked to get the divestment through. If you were the first in the United States to stand against South African apartheid maybe being the first against Israeli Occupation means we will see the end of that in 15 years time. Here's hoping.
good work to the college. our administration needs to take resolving this situation seriously and ending the status quo. stop the settlements.
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