UC Berkeley Student Senate Passes Divestment Bill in Response to Israeli Occupation

Student Senator Rahul Patel supported the bill, declaring that “in the 1980s the Student Government was
a central actor in demanding that the university divest from South African apartheid. 25 years later, it is a
key figure in shaping a nationwide movement against occupation and war crimes around the world.
Student Government can be a space to mobilize and make decisions that have a significant impact on the
international community. We must utilize these spaces to engage each other about issues of justice
worldwide.”
The Senate deliberation, which started Wednesday night, concluded at 3 am Thursday morning, March
18. The meeting was flooded with students, educators, and community members, which prompted the
relocation of the Senate session from the Senate Chambers to a larger room. The attendees took turns
making impassioned arguments for and against the bill. The diverse list of guest speakers included 76
names, ranging in age from college freshmen to Vietnam veterans. After amendments, the final bill
passed on a 16-4 vote.
In addition to Israeli military action, the student initiative was motivated by an 2005 call on behalf of 171
Palestinian civil society organizations calling on "people of conscience all over the world to impose broad
boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel … until it fully complies with the precepts of
international law."
According to Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, co-author of the bill, “this vote is an historic step in holding all
state and corporate actors accountable for their violations of basic human rights. The broad cross section
of the community that came out to demand our university invest ethically belies the notion that the
American people will tolerate the profiting from occupation or other human rights abuses.” Student
Senator Emily Carlton, co-sponsor of the bill, agreed, adding “this action will only be historic if it is
repeated throughout the country and the world; I hope that student governments all over America will see
in this a sign that the time to divest from war is now.”
In 2009, Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, became the first US educational institution to divest from
companies directly involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Hampshire College action was
advocated by the group Students for Justice in Palestine, and ultimately adopted by the Board of Trustees.
Today, through its Student Senate bill, UC Berkeley becomes the first large, public US institution to
endorse a similar measure.
UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine has been working on a divestment campaign from entities
that profit from the occupation of Palestine since 2000. UC Berkeley Law Students for Justice in
Palestine, founded in 2007, played a central role in researching the legal issues and the international laws
pertaining to Israeli human rights violations.