Thursday, March 7, 2013

Divestment victory at the University of California-Riverside:

Another Student Government Enters the History of the Palestine Freedom Movement --

Overwhelming Vote for Divestment against Apartheid "Israel" at the University of California-Riverside.


The vote was 11-5, and it overrode a veto that attempted to kill the divestment resolution.

This follows a recent vote for divestment at UC-Irvine's student government (in the L.A. Times at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/uc-irvine-student-leaders-urge-uc-to-divest-in-some-companies.html ).


It also follows earlier student government votes for divestment at:

* Wayne State University (at http://tinyurl.com/85r6um2 ),

* The University of Michigan-Dearborn (at http://michigandaily.com/content/dearborn-student-govt-demands-divestment ), 

 
Also:



* The University of Wisconsin-Platteville faculty senate approved its own divestment resolution (at http://michigandaily.com/content/faculty-senate-wisc-passes-divestment-bill ), 


* MEChA, the largest association of Chicano youth in the U.S., voted overwhelmingly at its 2012 national conference to endorse the global call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel ( http://www.nationalmecha.org/archives/2012/03/national_mecha_endorses_palestinian_boycott_call_against_israel.php ),

* South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, voted to make boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel part of its official policy in December 2012 (at http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2012/12/anc-takes-firm-position-in-solidarity.html ), and
 
* The Olympia Food Co-op, in 2010, voted to boycott all Israeli products (at http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/21/1310754/israel-cleaned-from-co-op-shelves.html )

In these votes, every argument that apartheid could make was rejected. After all, the arguments favoring Apartheid Israel are identical to the arguments made to preserve the old dead Apartheid State of South Africa.


Furthermore, Apartheid South Africa was tighly allied to Apartheid Israel. (See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/feb/07/southafrica.israel )

 
 
Another divestment vote is coming at UC San Diego next week.
UCSD just adjourned their meeting following eight hours of divestment debate last night (see http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news-and-features/campus/item/26498-divestment-vote-postponed )
 
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