Demands for Palestinian human rights resolutions in Ann Arbor City Council:

Since 1983, thousands of people have demanded Palestinian human rights resolutions in the Ann Arbor (Michigan) City Council.

 

Dearborn, Michigan rally confirms it: "Netanyahu is a piece of shit"

From a rally against fueling the Israeli military.

May 18, 2021, Dearborn, Michigan:

Columbia College students vote for divestment against the crime of apartheid, to support the rights of the Palestinian people:

"CEC Announces Passage Of Divestment Referendum, CCSC And ESC Election Results"

In BWOG Columbia Student News, September 29, 2020

At: https://bwog.com/2020/09/cec-announces-passage-of-divestment-referendum-ccsc-and-esc-election-results/

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"In an email to CC and SEAS students sent this morning, the Columbia Election Commission announced student government representatives for the coming years and the passage of the divestment referendum. 61.04% of participating students voted in support of the University’s divestment from companies that profit from or support Israeli policy toward Palestinian people.

"Last week, Columbia College students voted on the question of whether 'Columbia University [should] divest its stocks, funds, and endowment from companies that profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s acts towards Palestinians that, according to Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), fall under the United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment on the Crime of Apartheid.'

"Out of the 1771 students who participated in the voting, 1081 voted in favor, 485 voted against, and 205 abstained. Overall, 39.3% of the Columbia College student body voted on the referendum, which exceeds the baseline 30% required for a valid vote. This comes after years of debate surrounding the contentious Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Ballot initiative that CCSC eventually passed in November of 2019..."

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This opinion article appeared before that vote, in the Columbia Spectator:

"Stand for justice, stand for Palestine"

https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2020/09/23/stand-for-justice-stand-for-palestine/

by IBTIHAL MALLEY | SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Brief excerpt is below:

"...Voting in favor of this ballot initiative demonstrates a commitment to the voices of the student body—voices that are increasingly affirming the Palestinian struggle for justice and liberation. Our institutional holdings make us, as students, complicit in Israeli apartheid and such ubiquitous violations demand our concern and action. It is for these reasons that we ask the Columbia College student body to consider including Palestine as part of one’s moral compass when deciding to vote this week."

UMN divestment referendum is approved by campus vote, against Israeli human rights violations.

UMN divestment referendum passes, against Israeli human rights violations.

Students of the University of Minnesota demanded that the Board of Regents "divest from companies that are complicit in Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights": 

"UMN Divest referendum passes by 217 votes"

March 11, 2018

A total of 6,567 students voted on the referendum. See the article referenced below:

http://www.mndaily.com/article/2018/03/n-umn-divest-referendum-passes-by-217-votes

"God Damn 'Israel'" at the Ann Arbor City Council - March 5, 2018

From the March 5, 2018 meeting of Ann Arbor City Council:

The campaign to boycott Israel has entered its 16th year at the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council.

For a video of that entire city council meeting (38 minutes), see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiwLuMsMLFs

Divestment victory at University of Wisconsin

"UW-Madison graduate student union endorses BDS"

May 19, 2016

At: http://mondoweiss.net/2016/05/graduate-student-endorses/

The following press release was sent out by the UW-Madison Union of Graduate Student Workers:

“Members of the Teaching Assistants’ Association at the University of Wisconsin-Madison vote overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to divest from the State of Israel and corporations that profit from the illegal occupation of Palestine.

“During a two-week vote distributed to all union members, the Teaching Assistants’ Association (TAA/AFT Local 3220) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the oldest graduate student labor union in the United States representing over 9,000  graduate workers and students, voted overwhelmingly (81% of voting members) in favor of adopting a resolution to divest from Israeli state institutions and international corporations complicit in the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the ongoing violations of Palestinians’ human rights.

“In doing so, the TAA joins other graduate student unions UAW 2322 at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, UAW 2865 at the University of California System, and UAW 2110 at New York University, who have stood in solidarity with Palestinian Civil Society’s call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) as a non-violent tactic to put political and economic pressure on Israel until it ends the occupation and its violation of human rights and international law. The resolution also calls on the TAA’s employer, the University of Wisconsin System, and parent international, the AFL-CIO, to divest from the state of Israel and companies that contribute to and profit from the military occupation and oppression of Palestinians....”

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Another victory for boycott against the apartheid state:-at the University of Massachusetts

"UMass graduate union votes to support boycott, divestment movement against Israel"

April 21, 2016

At: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/04/umass_graduate_union_votes_to.html

AMHERST — The Graduate Employee Organization at the University of Massachusetts has adopted a resolution in "solidarity with Palestinian civil society" and supporting the controversial Boycott, Divestmentand Sanctions Movement.

The question put to its membership of more than 2,000 last week asked: "Should GEO/UAW2322 and its members join the global movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, until such time as Israel has complied with international law and respected the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and all Palestinian refugees and exiles?"

According to a GEO press release, 95 percent of those voting supported it.

The movement is an attempt to "put political and economic pressure on the Israeli state until it complies with international law and respects the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories," according to a press release....

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"Univ. of Massachusetts Grad Student Workers Endorse BDS Against Israel:
"The 2,000-member Graduate Employee Organization, part of United Auto Workers Local 2322, passed a resolution endorsing BDS."

April 21, 2016
At: http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/univ-massachusetts-grad-student-workers-endorse-bds-against-israel

"In a rebuke to their union’s top officials, graduate student workers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst overwhelmingly approved a measure aimed at supporting Palestinian human rights last week.

"The 2,000-member Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), part of United Auto Workers Local 2322, passed a resolution endorsing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), a global movement pressuring Israel to respect the rights of Palestinians and end its occupation of Palestinian territory. The vote—which organizers say passed with 95 percent approval—comes just months after the UAW International Executive Board (IEB) controversially overturned a similar BDS resolution passed by University of California graduate student workers with UAW Local 2865...."


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