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Hampshire College becomes first college in U.S. to divest from Israeli
Occupation! Press release, Students for Justice in Palestine (Hampshire College), 12 February 2009
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, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, John Berger, Tariq Ali,
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.
Jay Cassano Tel: 917-412-2181
Matan Cohen Tel: 434-409-3127
Kanya D'Almeida Tel: 860-208-1404
Dina Jacir Tel: 973-943-3520
Brian Van Slyke Tel: 708-707-1784
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