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On April 14, Columbia University students gathered in the early hours of the day to establish an encampment zone on the school’s main lawn. The news quickly spread, and similar scenes began popping up across the country. They are demanding collegiate divestment from Israel.
Graduation season is already underway across the country. While many colleges are preparing for their commencement ceremonies, some schools have altered or outright canceled this year’s events. Over 20 U.S. colleges and universities have witnessed pro-Palestine protests in recent weeks. Two of those schools, Columbia and the University of Southern California, have put a hold on their class of 2024 graduations.
University leaders have sought to bring pro-Palestinian protests to an end. As of May 2, police have arrested more than 2,000 college students at demonstrations across the nation. Others have been suspended, including Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter Isra Hirsi, who attends Barnard College.
How are Colleges Financially Tied to Israel?
Divestment, at its essence, is to remove or reduce funding from a specific asset. Pro-Palestinian protestors at major universities raise concerns about partnerships with companies that profit from Israel, fearing indirect support for the ongoing conflict. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has received millions in research funding from the Israeli Ministry of Defense since 2015.
Other schools have a less obvious link to Israel. Students at Columbia University, where the movement was born, are asking their school to disclose investments from companies with ties to Israel. Two of those corporations are Google and Amazon.
Project Nimbus is a cloud service contract between the Israeli government Google and Amazon. Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Defense Forces uses Project Nimbus for video conferences via Google Meet and a range of machine learning tools.
The partnership was first established in 2021, and workers from the two companies protested the union. In an anonymously written article from The Guardian, workers claim that the technology should only be used to “uplift people everywhere.” Ninety Google employees and over 300 Amazon workers, who co-signed the letter, shared the sentiment but chose to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. “For this reason, we are compelled to call on the leaders of Amazon and Google to pull out of Project Nimbus and cut all ties with the Israeli military.”
Will Schools Meet Demands for Divestment?
On April 26, the University of California (UC) President Michael V. Drake released a statement opposing the divestment demands. “While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.” The letter states that the school collects the bulk of its funding from tuition and fees. Drake asserts that the university does not use tuition funds for investment purposes.
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UC has nine campuses across California. The Riverside campus has vowed to increase transparency by providing investment documents to the public. This marks the first deal successfully negotiated between university faculty and student activist groups.
On April 22, Columbia passed a divestment referendum that would end the school’s dual degree program with Tel Aviv University. However, the leadership maintains that they will not divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Ceasefire Negotiation Accepted by Hamas Officials
Hamas leaders accepted a ceasefire deal orchestrated by Egypt and Qatar on Monday. Israel was gearing up to begin a military campaign in Rafah, a city in Gaza where thousands of Palestinians had sought refuge in recent months. The Israeli military dropped leaflets, advising civilians to evacuate before airstrikes ensued.
If the military offensive continues in Rafah, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has stated that they are prepared to defend Palestinians. Negotiation talks have been in the works for several months, none of which came to fruition. Hamas leaders hoped to reach an agreement before the holy month of Ramadan, which started in March. That effort fell through.
Negotiators have yet to make deal specifics public, but unconfirmed reports indicate an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
