University of California Divestment Resolution

(March 2001)

 

Whereas during the last several months, we have witnessed an escalation of Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people, with a disproportionate number of Palestinian casualties, and illegal Israeli policies towards Palestinians including: the ongoing occupation and colonization of Palestinian territory; the denial of the rights of the over 4 million Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties in Palestine; land confiscations and home demolitions; mass arrests and executions without due process; the use of lethal military force against a civilian population; curfews and village closures as collective punishment; and a systematic bias against non-Jews in Israeli law and official practice, and

Whereas the state of Israel possesses the most advanced, well-funded, and technologically sophisticated military in the Middle East, and

Whereas Israel refuses to acknowledge its displacement of Palestinian people

and the ongoing military occupation of Palestine, as well as its violation of UN Resolutions 181, 194, and 141 and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and

Whereas the state of Israel has impoverished an entire nation of people through its control over access to meaningful jobs, travel, water, electricity, and political rights, and

Whereas the University of California invests more than 6.2 billion dollars in companies that do business in Israel, including General Electric and Raytheon, which are military contractors for the state of Israel, and

Whereas as students at the University of California, academic student employees recognize that the investment strategies of the university should not aid in the exploitation, displacement, and victimization of the Palestinian people,

BE IT RESOLVED that the Berkeley unit of AGSE/UAW local 2865 lends its support to the Palestinian people and calls on the UC Regents to end its financial ties to Israel by divesting from companies with subsidiaries in Israel and/or substantial financial commitments (over 5 million dollars) to the Israeli economy.

 


Last updated on 4.8.2001