uc davis

UC Davis SJP – Statement on May Divestment Victory

On the evening of Thursday May 28th, the Associated Students of the University of California, Davis voted once again to pass a divestment resolution against companies that assist in the ongoing human rights violations in Palestine. Much like the passage of Senate Resolution 9 in January of this year, an overwhelming majority of senators voted ‘yes’ in support of SR 17 with a final vote count of 10-0-2.

Although SR 9 was deemed ‘unconstitutional’ by the UC Davis Campus Court back in February, the Divestment Community views this second victory as further affirmation of student concern in their university’s complicity with the Israeli occupation. The two resolutions are nearly identical with the exception that SR 17 includes direct ties to the resolution’s effects on ‘student welfare,’ which the Court felt was missing in SR 9. The almost undebated passage of SR 17 reflects the progress of student politics and ethics here at UC Davis over the past 3 years, while also keeping alive the tradition of students taking a stance on political issues.

This fight for justice has proved long and challenging as is every important issue. However, the community growth and dialogue that has emerged from recognizing that oppressed communities share the same struggles will always outweigh the adversities we have and will continue to face. Our work is far from complete, but we take this moment to celebrate this monumental step towards ending the University of California’s irresponsible and immoral investments.

We thank you for your unwavering support and your commitment to promoting justice everywhere.

Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Davis

UC Davis SJP Statement on Judicial Board Divestment Verdict

Dear UC Davis Community members,

A trial by the UC Davis Campus Court was held on 2/18 regarding the legality of Senate Resolution 9 under the constitution of ASUCD. This student court ruled in favor of nullifying the resolution, which was a call for UC Davis to divest from corporations that are complicit with Israel’s human rights violations against the Palestinian people, on the grounds that the resolution didn’t directly affect “student welfare” on campus and was “primarily a political document.”

Yet SR #9, deemed too “political” for the ASUCD to vote on, is similar to past resolutions including the call to divest from Apartheid South Africa and Sudan. Thus this court ruling was highly selective and politically biased in targeting only divestment from Israel. It also suggests that the welfare of UC Davis students who are Palestinian and their families who are displaced from Israel or targeted by Israeli violence and restrictions on freedom of movement, freedom to education, and freedom to live does not matter. Palestinian Lives Matter!

The verdict attempts to silence not only pro-Palestine activists on campus who are personally affected by UC Davis’s complicity with Israeli occupation and apartheid, but also future student activists who organize grassroots movements and participate in ASUCD’s democratic process. It is a tactic of campus ‘lawfare’ similar to that used by national Zionist groups to undermine the BDS movement. But this procedural maneuver cannot change the clear student consensus in favor of divestment for human rights.

Students for Justice in Palestine considers this court ruling invalid because it would infringe on free speech rights to disallow “political” statements and because the ruling attempts to override the democratic process that operates in ASUCD. This discriminatory and repressive verdict will not be accepted by the SJP community, and there will be an organized response to this injustice. The fact is that the divestment movement has won at UC Davis, and we and the Palestinian rights movement stand by this victory.
In solidarity,
SJP

UC Davis launches divestment campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Davis

Email: ucdavis.sjp@gmail.com

ASUCD to vote on “UCD Resolution in Support of University of California Davis Corporate Accountability through Divestment from Corporations Profiting from the Illegal Occupation of Palestine”

(April 24, 2013) In the coming weeks, the Associated Students of University of California, Davis, (ASUCD) student government senate will be voting whether or not to divest from corporations that are profiting from human rights violations occurring in the occupied Palestinian territories. This will make the University of California, Davis the sixth UC to vote on a Divestment resolution this year, following UC San Diego, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine.

The resolution targets Caterpillar, General Electric, Cement Roadstones and Raytheon, all of which are profiting from human rights violations in the occupied territories (violations which have been deemed illegal by the United Nations and the International Court of Justice).  The Students for Justice in Palestine (Davis), sponsored the resolution, joining a UC-wide effort to assert students’ agency and insist on socially responsible investments by divesting from corporations profiting from the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories.

Whether the resolution “UCD Resolution in Support of University of California Davis Corporate Accountability through Divestment from Corporations Profiting from the Illegal Occupation of Palestine,” passes or not, the Students for Justice in Palestine at UCD sees this as a beginning to pushing the University towards a more socially responsible investment.