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Pro-Israel Appeal To US Patriotism Fails To Halt “Historic” California Divestment Vote
The campaign for divestment from companies that assist and profit from Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights took a big step forward in California this weekend.
The board of the University of California Students Association (UCSA) passed two resolutions at its 8 February meeting in Los Angeles urging university governors to divest from companies including Boeing, Caterpillar and Hewlett-Packard that make weapons and systems Israel uses to commit violations of Palestinian rights.
UCSA, which officially represents hundreds of thousands of students in the University of California (UC) system, passed both measures by a 9-1 majority with six abstentions.
One resolution notes that six of nine undergraduate student associations on UC campuses have already passed similar measures. It calls on UC Regents, the university’s overall governing body, “to respect and act upon the call of University of California students to divest.”
It also notes that the “student body of the University of California has a long and proud history of activism for social justice” using divestment as a tool in campaigns including South Africa, fossil fuels and the prison-industrial complex.
“Historic”
SJP West, a coalition of West Coast chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, welcomed the “historic” vote.
“Students for Justice in Palestine chapters and their many allies across the UC applaud and celebrate the UCSA’s decision to affirm student activism, endorse the divestment call, and carry it forth to the UC Regents,” SJP West said in a media release.
Source: electronicintifada.net