The student-led coalition Brown Divest helped convince a university committee to vote in favor of divesting from companies that "facilitate the [Israeli] occupation and its human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza." (Photo: Brown Divest)
Dec 02, 2019
Brown University took a step toward divesting from companies that are complicit in human rights abuses against Palestinians, after an advisory committee Tuesday voted in agreement with students who have spent months demanding the move.
The university's Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) voted to recommend that the university withdraw support for companies that are "facilitating the [Israeli] occupation and its human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza."
The vote--with six members in favor, two opposing, and one abstaining--came eight months after nearly 70 percent of Brown student voters supported a referendum to divest from several companies including Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.
More than 100 faculty members also expressed their support for the referendum at the time.
The human rights organization Jewish Voice for Peace, congratulated Brown University Divest, the coalition of students which led the campaign for divestment.
\u201cCongratulations @BrownDivest!! We are so inspired by the hard work of student activists.\u201d— Jewish Voice for Peace (@Jewish Voice for Peace) 1575326612
"As Jews, as U.S. citizens, as Brown students, and as people of conscience, it is our responsibility to speak up for Palestinian human rights and to denounce complicity in Palestinian suffering," said Tal Frieden, a member of both organizations. "We will continue to hold the University accountable to this vote."
Students at Swarthmore, NYU, UCLA, and George Washington University have also recently campaigned to pressure their schools to divest from companies which profit from the occupation through their work in Israel.
"We are elated that the University committee responsible for [recommending] divestment has finally joined the calls for divestment from human rights violations in Palestine," said Brown Divest. "We look forward to other universities joining the movement for dignity and human rights for Palestinians."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Brown University took a step toward divesting from companies that are complicit in human rights abuses against Palestinians, after an advisory committee Tuesday voted in agreement with students who have spent months demanding the move.
The university's Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) voted to recommend that the university withdraw support for companies that are "facilitating the [Israeli] occupation and its human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza."
The vote--with six members in favor, two opposing, and one abstaining--came eight months after nearly 70 percent of Brown student voters supported a referendum to divest from several companies including Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.
More than 100 faculty members also expressed their support for the referendum at the time.
The human rights organization Jewish Voice for Peace, congratulated Brown University Divest, the coalition of students which led the campaign for divestment.
\u201cCongratulations @BrownDivest!! We are so inspired by the hard work of student activists.\u201d— Jewish Voice for Peace (@Jewish Voice for Peace) 1575326612
"As Jews, as U.S. citizens, as Brown students, and as people of conscience, it is our responsibility to speak up for Palestinian human rights and to denounce complicity in Palestinian suffering," said Tal Frieden, a member of both organizations. "We will continue to hold the University accountable to this vote."
Students at Swarthmore, NYU, UCLA, and George Washington University have also recently campaigned to pressure their schools to divest from companies which profit from the occupation through their work in Israel.
"We are elated that the University committee responsible for [recommending] divestment has finally joined the calls for divestment from human rights violations in Palestine," said Brown Divest. "We look forward to other universities joining the movement for dignity and human rights for Palestinians."
Brown University took a step toward divesting from companies that are complicit in human rights abuses against Palestinians, after an advisory committee Tuesday voted in agreement with students who have spent months demanding the move.
The university's Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) voted to recommend that the university withdraw support for companies that are "facilitating the [Israeli] occupation and its human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza."
The vote--with six members in favor, two opposing, and one abstaining--came eight months after nearly 70 percent of Brown student voters supported a referendum to divest from several companies including Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.
More than 100 faculty members also expressed their support for the referendum at the time.
The human rights organization Jewish Voice for Peace, congratulated Brown University Divest, the coalition of students which led the campaign for divestment.
\u201cCongratulations @BrownDivest!! We are so inspired by the hard work of student activists.\u201d— Jewish Voice for Peace (@Jewish Voice for Peace) 1575326612
"As Jews, as U.S. citizens, as Brown students, and as people of conscience, it is our responsibility to speak up for Palestinian human rights and to denounce complicity in Palestinian suffering," said Tal Frieden, a member of both organizations. "We will continue to hold the University accountable to this vote."
Students at Swarthmore, NYU, UCLA, and George Washington University have also recently campaigned to pressure their schools to divest from companies which profit from the occupation through their work in Israel.
"We are elated that the University committee responsible for [recommending] divestment has finally joined the calls for divestment from human rights violations in Palestine," said Brown Divest. "We look forward to other universities joining the movement for dignity and human rights for Palestinians."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.