"University of California (UC) divest from Israel!" Q & A What is Divestment? Divestment is a political strategy devised by anti-apartheid student activists in the late 70's and throughout the 80's. Students found out that their universities were investing in companies that supported the racist South African government. They organized to pressure their universities into removing financial support of companies that financed the oppressive South African regime and that drew profits from exploitation. Divestment was a way for students to fight a truly winnable battle in the struggle against the exploitation and oppression of the people of Azania (occupied South Africa). MIM and RAIL demand that the UC withdraw financial support from another barbaric apartheid regime in Israel. How is the UC linked to Israel? The UC currently has 40 billon dollars invested in bonds, equity funds, money market and common stock portfolios. At least 3.4% or $1.4 billion is invested in technological and military companies contributing to Israeli apartheid. (1) What does UC money do in Israel? The UC funnels money into companies like General Dynamics Corp., General Electric Capital Corp., Honeywell Corp., Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and United Tech Corp., each of which provide Israel with helicopters, jet engines, F-16 fighters, M1-A2 tanks, avionics control systems, rocket launchers, aircraft missiles, launch systems, other missiles and more. (2) Why Should the UC Divest? *UC Stake in the Bloodshed. Israeli settlers and storm troopers alike are armed to the teeth with the latest killing technology provided by the U.S. government and companies doing business in Israel -companies that the UC supports financially. By withdrawing its financial stake in the Israeli killing machine the UC will take a stand against the uneven distribution of power and resources in the Middle East and contribute to the genuine struggle for peace. *UC Support for an international outlaw. The UC should not financially support a regime that is internationally recognized as one of the most brutal, annexationist regimes in history. From its genocidal inception to the present day, 70 U.N. resolutions have condemned the state of Israel for unparalleled human rights abuses, legalized torture and land theft. (3) *The UC pays lip service to diversity. In addition to its wavering stance on moderate reforms like Affirmative Action, the UC comes out directly against diversity and equality by financially supporting, checkpoints, concentration camps and occupation. This includes bogus housing permits for Palestinians, racist ID cards and work permits, curfews and storm trooper enforced "Israeli Only" access to land, water, roads, schools and hospitals. *Pure and simple chauvinism. On the one hand the UC invests to finance the education of people living in the U.S. and supports business in Israel. On the other hand the UC directly supports the destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure necessary to maintain national businesses, industry, agriculture, waterways, roads, hospitals and schools. By supporting the Israeli occupation the UC sends the message that the people living in the U.S. and Israel are entitled to education, housing, and water while the people of Palestine are not. Doesn't Israel need to defend itself from terrorists? Arguments like this are usually about "Israeli defense" and rest on imperialist racist propaganda about "aggressive Arab neighbors". Get real. With the largest standing army and the only nuclear arsenal in the region, the apartheid state of Israel is a leading aggressor, instigator of national conflict and the scourge of the Middle East. (4) Israel should not enjoy UC investment to continue its terror. Already U.S. foreign aid to the apartheid state of Israel is $18 million per day, or $750,000 per hour. In 1997 alone U.S. aid to Israel was 6 times as much as the U.S. spent on "famine relief" for the entire world. (5) What makes you think the UC will divest? In 1986 one of the biggest victories in the South Africa divestment movement came when the UC divested itself of all $3.1 billion of its stock in companies active in South Africa. (6) There is no reason why well-organized students and faculty at the UC cannot lead a successful divestment campaign against a similar regime today. Will divestment mean higher fees? While any increase in fees for domestic education costs is a small price to pay for helping to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East, several studies on divestment from South Africa discovered that "over a five to ten year span, South Africa-free funds... consistently outperformed the Standard & Poors Index of 500 large companies." (7) What exactly are your demands? Our demands are simple: * We demand that the UC publicly state its policy regarding investment in the apartheid state of Israel and in companies doing business with apartheid. * We demand that the UC publicly make a statement condemning the brutality of the Israeli occupation. * We demand that the UC withdraw all of its investments in the apartheid state of Israel and in companies doing business with apartheid and that divestment should continue at least as long as Israel refuses to withdraw from the territory it occupied in 1967 (West Bank, Gaza Strip). What does the UC think about all this? So far UC Berkeley has followed the U.S. government's lead in support of Israeli apartheid and terror and has moved to stop peaceful sit-ins and teach-ins sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an influential divestment group at UC Berkeley led by the social democratic International Socialist Organization (ISO). On April 9th UCPD arrested 79 peaceful demonstrators at Berkeley. All of them face bogus criminal charges and students will face student conduct charges. Some students may face a 1-year suspension. UC Berkeley briefly suspended SJP from organizing on campus while it "investigated." The group could hold events, table, distribute literature or organize on the campus. The suspension was lifted, but individual students still face punishment. These exceptional and unjustified attacks against pro-Palestinian students and activists can be used to further sanctions against student groups. While we are not associated with SJP we are for the democratic right of students to peacefully organize and protest UC and government policy. We continue to stand by our demands. How can I get involved? The best way to help out is to circulate our petition and organize events around campus or the campus community to expose the fact of the Israeli occupation and UC investment in it. We have a petition campaign demanding UC divestment from Israel and have a post-card campaign to send our demands directly to the regents. Make sure to sign a petition and fill out and mail a postcard. Send requests for blank petitions or post-cards to the address below. MIM & RAIL hold regular meetings around the UCLA, UCSB and UCB campuses. To organize an event, co-sponsor or to find out more you can reach us at slala12@mim.org or through the web at http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext. UC Divest from Israel! No UC Support for Israeli Apartheid! Notes: 1. http://www.ucop.edu/treasurer 2. http://www.motherjones.com/arms/ 3. Zionism: the Forgotten Apartheid, 2nd ed. p. 2. 4. Students for Justice in Palestine pamphlet 5. Zionism: the Forgotten Apartheid, 2nd ed. p. 13. 6. Qtd. In Jonathan Feldman, Universities in the Business of Repression. TheAcademic-Military-Industrial Complex in Central America. South End Press, Boston p. 99. 7. Ibid. p. 104.