By Nadia Barclay
Students for Justice in Palestine
Imagine finding out that your undergraduate institution invested in companies that directly supplied military arms—bulldozers, weaponry, machinery, aircrafts, and the like—to countries that have committed, and continue to commit, human rights violations. It’s similar to supporting apartheid in South Africa, where non-whites were subjected to racial discrimination, both violent and non-violent, in all aspects of their lives.
It’s similar to supporting the Janjaweed militia in their attacks against non-Arab ethnic groups in present-day Sudan. Students would naturally be outraged if their college consciously invested in these companies. Luckily, this is not the case here. Bryn Mawr College remains committed to making “meaningful contributions to the world” and upholding the values of equality and respect.
Or does it?
While it is universally agreed upon that human rights violations are considered wrong, it cannot be universally agreed upon whether or not Israel is in fact committing human rights violations against Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. However, the UN has repeatedly passed resolutions declaring actions of the Israeli government in defiance of international standards of law and human rights norms. In the summer of 2004, the international court ruled the “separation barrier” illegal, yet Israel continues to build it.
Imagine finding out that your undergraduate institution invested in companies that provided arms to Israel for its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Do you even care?
Students for Justice in Palestine, a Bryn Mawr club that works to raise awareness regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, is calling on Bryn Mawr College to divest from Caterpillar, General Electric, and Boeing because of strong evidence showing that these companies sell arms, technology, and other military products that support the illegal military occupation. Caterpillar sells special D-9 Bulldozers to the Israeli military. These bulldozers have razed countless Palestinian homes to make way for illegal Jewish settlements. General Electric supplies Israel with motors to keep their tanks up and running to ensure continued destruction of Palestinian infrastructure, and Boeing supplies low-clearance jets and planes that have dropped bombs on Palestinian refugee camps, killing civilians, women and children, all in the name of “security.”
As members of the Bryn Mawr College community, acting in accordance with the College Mission Statement—which asks students to be conscious citizens of the world—we believe that our College ought to use its influence to encourage the United States government and the government of Israel to respect the rights of the Palestinian people.
The “Divest from Israel” campaign is gaining much momentum around the world, finally extending to the U.S. Divestment movements are now underway on more than forty college campuses around the country. On April 17, 2003, the student council at Wayne State University in Michigan voted to divest from all companies doing business in Israel. Bryn Mawr College now has the chance to join in the movement, to ensure Palestinians are finally allowed the rights of freedom and self-determination. Divestment will lift the yoke of an oppressive and discriminatory regime, creating two nations where equality, peace, and security exist for all people.
Being uninformed or choosing to stay neutral in a conflict that has claimed more than 5,000 lives from both sides in the last three years is unacceptable. By divesting from the aforementioned companies, Bryn Mawr College will make a poignant statement: that it is committed to Israel’s right to exist, but not at the expense of the human rights of the Palestinians.
If you are interested in signing the divestment petition, please email nbarclay, ahussein, or lkramer.
This article is © 2008 The Bi-College News. The material on this page is free for personal or educational use, but may not be reproduced, reprinted, republished, redistributed, or otherwise transmitted to a third party without the express written permission of The Bi-College News, 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041.
Editor's note: Articles that appear in the Last Word section are works of satire.
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