LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — On February 8, the University of California Student Association’s (UCSA) voted 9 in favor, 1 against, and 6 abstaining, in favor of two divestment resolutions. One calls for divestment from American, Mexican, Russian, Turkish, Indonesian, Brazilian, Sri Lankan, and Egyptian government bonds. The other calls for divestment from certain companies that do business with Israel. StandWithUs condemns these votes, the slander uttered against Israel during the debate, as well as the anti-justice, anti-peace agenda the UCSA is now complicit in.
While StandWithUs supports government accountability across the board, we believe that symbolic calls for divestment from America and other governments are misguided overreach, and will not advance human rights or justice in any meaningful way. Furthermore, we completely reject the UCSA’s anti-Israel divestment resolution. This vote is especially unacceptable in light of a recent article in UCLA’s campus newspaper, which exposed the fact that a primary author of the anti-Israel resolution is associated with bigoted off-campus individuals and groups.
Instead of promoting peaceful coexistence, the UCSA vote contributed to the fundamentally anti-peace, anti-justice, anti-human rights agenda of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement against Israel. BDS uses the language of social justice and human rights to mask its true goals – the elimination of Israel and the violation of Jewish rights to self-determination.
Public comment during the UCSA board meeting included blatant demonization, including false claims of “genocide.” Even more disturbingly, a UCSA representative used her position of power to slander Israel with accusations of “sterilization”. This hate speech exposes the true nature of the anti-Israel divestment movement on campus.
Finally, StandWithUs applauds UC Jewish and pro-Israel activists who openly challenged BDS for promoting bigotry and undermining student unity. UC student groups staged a vocal protest during the UCSA meeting, chanting, “stop the hate, against the only Jewish state,” and holding signs telling the UCSA to “stop dividing the UCs for an unjust cause”. It is encouraging that while BDS activity has increased, many students are increasingly resenting the co-option of their voices by BDS extremists, and Jewish and pro-Israel students are becoming more vocal and united in defense of their communities, their homeland, and the Jewish people’s inalienable right to self-determination.
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Preceding provided by StandWithUs