Universities have so far rejected calls to divest. Israel defenders say these calls are unfair to a country that is under threat of anti-Semitic attack because they target the world’s only Jewish-majority nation. This is a long-standing accusation against the “boycott, divestment and sanctions” movement that targets the country.
But pro-Palestinian activists, many of whom are Jewish, see divestment as a clear and achievable way to force universities to take action on the issue, an important symbolic victory that would raise awareness of their concerns. They cite the success of past efforts, including how students in the 1980s pressured their universities to divest from companies doing business in apartheid South Africa, as well as fossil fuel companies.
“First of all, we want the effect to be for Columbia, because that’s what we have power over,” said Ray Guerrero, a Columbia School of Public Health graduate student and Columbia University Apartheid Divest organizer, a student-led initiative. motion. “But we hope this expands, so these companies understand what the ramifications are.”
South Africa is a precedent.
The universities facing these calls have enormous endowments, amounting to billions of dollars, which are invested in the financial markets, in stocks, real estate and large investment funds.
Divestment, simply put, means selling holdings, often those that are objectionable.
An oft-cited example took place in the 1980s, targeting companies doing business with South Africa, which was under apartheid. Columbia made headlines when it sold $39 million in shares it held in companies including Coca-Cola, Ford Motor and Mobil Oil following weeks of student sit-ins on its campus.
Other schools followed suit. In total, more than 150 universities divested from companies doing business in South Africa, as part of a series of sanctions imposed against the country.
