Berkeley Student Senate Divests from Companies that Support Israeli Occupation

In the early morning hours of Thursday, March 18, the UC Berkeley Student Senate passed a bill to divest from companies that provide military support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Two companies were targeted: General Electric, which manufactures Apache helicopter engines, and United Technologies, which supplies Blackhawk helicopters and F-16 aircraft engines. The bill instructs the Associated Students of the University of California to examine its assets and divest from the two companies. It also calls on the larger university to take the same action.

Debate over the bill - titled "A Bill in Support of UC Divestment from War Crimes" - started Wednesday evening and continued until 3 a.m. Thursday morning. Scores of people spoke in support and opposition to the bill, which finally passed on a 16-4 vote.

Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, co-author of the bill, called the vote a "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."

The bill was promoted by student groups Students for Justice in Palestine and Law Students for Justice in Palestine, which conducted research on the legal issues and international laws pertaining to Israeli human rights violations.

Copies of the bill and the press release announcing its passage are attached.