Students at several universities across the United States have persuaded administrators to consider stripping their schools' endowments from Israel following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests.
In what is seen as the biggest victory for protesters so far, Sacramento State announced on Tuesday that it would divest from all “companies and foundations that profit from activities that violate genocide, ethnic cleansing, and violations of fundamental human rights.” promised.
The school has not made any direct investments that cross this line, but said it will review its indexes and mutual funds and “pursue a human rights-based investment approach.”
Sacramento State's agreement stands in sharp contrast to other universities such as Columbia University and George Washington University. At the university, administrators called the police to forcibly remove protesters and refused to respond to calls for a sale. Since April 18, police have made more than 2,800 arrests at 50 campuses.
Students are also slowly winning at schools such as Northwestern University, Brown University, Rutgers University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Minnesota, and University of California, Riverside. These universities are fulfilling some of the students' demands in exchange for the removal of encampments. While some universities have agreed to review their investments and some are committed to increasing transparency, some activists are skeptical of these commitments.
