SANTA BARBARA, California (Press Release) — The Associated Students at UC Santa Barbara (ASUCSB) overwhelmingly rejected a hateful resolution to divest from certain companies doing business with Israel on May 11, 2017. After a contentious debate lasting almost 10 hours, divestment was crushingly defeated with a vote of 0 in favor, 16 against, and 7 abstentions. This is the fourth defeat in five years.
As part of their divestment campaign, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UCSB erected a hostile wall display featuring falsified quotes by Israeli leaders and a map calling all of Israel “occupied territory”, among other slanderous and misleading claims. After being called out for spreading lies and bigotry, SJP was forced to temporarily change their display (it appeared in its original form at UC Riverside this week).
In the week that followed, Santa Barbara Hillel and Students Supporting Israel (SSI) worked with Artists4Israel to create a positive mural in support of Israel, as well as peace and dialogue through art. Unfortunately, the mural was vandalized twice in five days – a stark contrast to SJP’s wall which pro-Israel students countered with respectful debate rather than attempts to silence free speech.
At the senate meeting itself, pro-Israel students spent hours expressing how the divestment campaign only served to embolden hatred on campus, demonize Israel, and push Israelis and Palestinians further away from a just and peaceful solution. Meanwhile, supporters of the resolution made slanderous accusations of “genocide” and “sterilization,” designed to demonize and dehumanize Israelis in the eyes of the student senate, all while claiming their cause was about justice and peace.
“This campaign at UCSB is a perfect example of how divestment harms students for an unjust cause,” Sarah Tagger, former Student Board President at Santa Barbara Hillel and StandWithUs’ Campus Strategy Coordinator said. “I could not be more proud that students at UCSB saw through the manipulative rhetoric of this resolution, and rejected it so overwhelmingly. UCSB is a beacon of light in the UC system – an example of what it means to uphold the truth, stand up to hate, and support justice and human rights for all.”
StandWithUs warmly congratulates Santa Barbara Hillel the rest of the organized Jewish and pro-Israel community, which came together to defeat divestment for the fourth time in five years. They overcame this challenge with dignity and respect, and are an example for others to follow. We look forward to working with Hillel, ICC, and our other partners to continue empowering this community for years to come.
On the other hand, StandWithUs strongly condemns the Associated Students Senate at California State University at Long Beach (CSULB) for passing a bigoted and discriminatory divestment resolution. The motion passed with a vote of 15 in favor, 7 against, and one abstention.
During the weeks of debate that occurred on this issue, CSULB President Jane Conoly came out with a statement strongly condemning the resolution. She noted that divestment and the larger movement it is part of are, “opposed to the existence of the State of Israel” and have fueled racism against Jewish students.
Disturbingly, the resolution passed despite containing blatantly false claims, such as, “the Palestinian people have been occupied by the state of Israel’s forces since 1946.”
According to StandWithUs Southwest Campus Coordinator Sgula Dershowitz, “supporters of this resolution cannot claim to stand for justice and human rights, while calling Israel’s mere existence an ‘occupation’ and opposing Jewish rights to self-determination there”.
Additionally, what began as a debate between CSULB students quickly turned into a massive campaign of pressure on the student government from off-campus anti-Israel lobby groups. Unfortunately ASI gave in to that pressure and endorsed bigotry against many of the students it is supposed to represent.
StandWithUs is proud of Beach Hillel, 49ers for Israel and the entire pro-Israel community at CSULB for their dedication and courage in speaking up in the face of such hostility. We will continue to work with ICC, Hillel, and all of our partners to help students stand up to hate and educate about Israel at CSULB and beyond.
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Preceding provided by StandWithUs