Re: the campus protests, is there any actual data on “university investments in corporations that profit from Israel's military operations?” What is the protestors’ specific ask in that regard?
Re: the campus protests, is there any actual data on “university investments in corporations that profit from Israel's military operations?” What is the protestors’ specific ask in that regard?
Here at UW-Madison (and I suspect elsewhere) one of the key demands is for simple transparency in university investments. It's true we don't know, that's because universities keep this information secret.
You might think there would be people who would sign on to a call for more transparency, whatever they think of what's happening in Gaza. Guess not.
So, more or less, it's consistent with the "BDS" movement of the past 20 years?
I haven't been following super closely, but the horrors in Gaza have certainly captured my attention.
Do you have any insight into whether the protesters there think Israel has a right to exist at all, notwithstanding what any particular Israeli government is doing?
I can't speak for the protesters, of course, but I believe it is consistent with the goals of the BDS movement.
"Do you have any insight into whether the protesters there think Israel has a right to exist at all..."
Well, the claims that the protesters want to push all Jewish Israelis into the sea is a ridiculous lie, to start with. If your definition of "Israel" is "A Jewish state, explicitly designed along religious lines, giving Jewish religious leaders greater rights over public policy than people of other religions and non-religious people" then I would say the protesters oppose that vision of what Israel should be, preferring a democratic, multi-ethnic state with equal treatment for people of ALL religions.
The comparison I'd make is to Christian Nationalists, people in this country who believe "The United States is a Christian Nation" and that Christian leaders should therefore have outsized influence over public policy. Or Narendra Modi's vision of Hindu Nationalism.
I understand you can't speak for them. Side note, I'm a little surprised that no prominent public spokespeople have emerged yet, nor does there seem to be any centralized leadership. The longer the Gaza horror continues, the more organized the opposition will become.
I'm not a student of any of this, but I do know that, in as much as any state has an identity, Israel has always considered itself "a Jewish state." What that has meant in practice for Jews and non-Jews alike, has been the subject of terrible conflict for many years.
I greatly appreciate your "on-the ground" perspective, thanks again.
I think it's interesting to note that if you tell a Christian Nationalist that you oppose their particular religious vision for what this country should be, they will claim that you want to DESTROY AMERICA.
Ultra-nationalist nuts, whether motivated religiously, racially, or culturally, have been responsible for some of the worst disasters in modern human history, and are certainly working hard to do their worst today in Israel, America, Russia, Iran, and elsewhere.
Vox did an explainer recently (https://www.vox.com/politics/2024/5/7/24150638/divest-israel-protesters-bds-columbia-meaning-fossil-fuel). Not just Israel, but weapons, fossil fuels. It is challenging to achieve, but we all deserve transparency. The effort could trigger more discussions about how the U.S. Economy is structured. UAW has been organizing on the ground via Labor in bomb factories, recognizing that these people have very little power to choose alternative work. It is all connected to how Federal Gov't spends our massive collective tax dollars. We could fund Green Jobs, Clean Jobs, Education Jobs, Care Jobs, etc. Or we can keep going like this, funding the weapons economy. The people who make the profits - top line executives, major shareholders (incl retirement funds) - do not have any incentive to change when profits are so high. But we all deserve to be able to see the flows - these companies get $$ from us, our tax dollars, by contracting with the federal gov't to "make and sell" these weapons. If you don't understand gov't contracting or the public-private partnership nature of how our gov'ts work, then please look more closely. Talk to friends, neighbors, family. Everywhere there are people who work in some type of work that has involved a gov't contract. Gov't is everywhere, not just federal, but local at all levels. So this problem of weapons to Israel is the same. The next time your local public school falls short on janitorial or maintenance b/c "the system" doesn't have enough money, ask why there is still plenty of money for our gov't to contract with these companies that make/sell bombs to kill Palestinians. There are Americans in the weapons business who don't want this guaranteed flow of money to dry up.
Re: the campus protests, is there any actual data on “university investments in corporations that profit from Israel's military operations?” What is the protestors’ specific ask in that regard?
Here at UW-Madison (and I suspect elsewhere) one of the key demands is for simple transparency in university investments. It's true we don't know, that's because universities keep this information secret.
You might think there would be people who would sign on to a call for more transparency, whatever they think of what's happening in Gaza. Guess not.
Oliver Hart of Harvard and Luigi Zingales of UChicago providing economic philosophy rationale for universities to be transparent about investments - https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-protesters-are-right-about-transparency/
This is a thoughtful essay, thanks for sharing.
Transparency would be excellent.
Even in its absence, I'm unclear about whether most protesters today call for divestment in companies which
- Sell or make any products in Israel?
- Buy any Israeli products?
- Make any weapons?
- Make any weapons for Israel?
- Make weapons which Israel is using against Palestinians in Gaza?
I think it's "All of the above" for the protesters here.
So, more or less, it's consistent with the "BDS" movement of the past 20 years?
I haven't been following super closely, but the horrors in Gaza have certainly captured my attention.
Do you have any insight into whether the protesters there think Israel has a right to exist at all, notwithstanding what any particular Israeli government is doing?
I can't speak for the protesters, of course, but I believe it is consistent with the goals of the BDS movement.
"Do you have any insight into whether the protesters there think Israel has a right to exist at all..."
Well, the claims that the protesters want to push all Jewish Israelis into the sea is a ridiculous lie, to start with. If your definition of "Israel" is "A Jewish state, explicitly designed along religious lines, giving Jewish religious leaders greater rights over public policy than people of other religions and non-religious people" then I would say the protesters oppose that vision of what Israel should be, preferring a democratic, multi-ethnic state with equal treatment for people of ALL religions.
The comparison I'd make is to Christian Nationalists, people in this country who believe "The United States is a Christian Nation" and that Christian leaders should therefore have outsized influence over public policy. Or Narendra Modi's vision of Hindu Nationalism.
I understand you can't speak for them. Side note, I'm a little surprised that no prominent public spokespeople have emerged yet, nor does there seem to be any centralized leadership. The longer the Gaza horror continues, the more organized the opposition will become.
I'm not a student of any of this, but I do know that, in as much as any state has an identity, Israel has always considered itself "a Jewish state." What that has meant in practice for Jews and non-Jews alike, has been the subject of terrible conflict for many years.
I greatly appreciate your "on-the ground" perspective, thanks again.
This is why many consider it an apartheid state. If the right of return occurred, would the dominant creat a secular state, or go the way of Iran?
I think it's interesting to note that if you tell a Christian Nationalist that you oppose their particular religious vision for what this country should be, they will claim that you want to DESTROY AMERICA.
Ultra-nationalist nuts, whether motivated religiously, racially, or culturally, have been responsible for some of the worst disasters in modern human history, and are certainly working hard to do their worst today in Israel, America, Russia, Iran, and elsewhere.
Vox did an explainer recently (https://www.vox.com/politics/2024/5/7/24150638/divest-israel-protesters-bds-columbia-meaning-fossil-fuel). Not just Israel, but weapons, fossil fuels. It is challenging to achieve, but we all deserve transparency. The effort could trigger more discussions about how the U.S. Economy is structured. UAW has been organizing on the ground via Labor in bomb factories, recognizing that these people have very little power to choose alternative work. It is all connected to how Federal Gov't spends our massive collective tax dollars. We could fund Green Jobs, Clean Jobs, Education Jobs, Care Jobs, etc. Or we can keep going like this, funding the weapons economy. The people who make the profits - top line executives, major shareholders (incl retirement funds) - do not have any incentive to change when profits are so high. But we all deserve to be able to see the flows - these companies get $$ from us, our tax dollars, by contracting with the federal gov't to "make and sell" these weapons. If you don't understand gov't contracting or the public-private partnership nature of how our gov'ts work, then please look more closely. Talk to friends, neighbors, family. Everywhere there are people who work in some type of work that has involved a gov't contract. Gov't is everywhere, not just federal, but local at all levels. So this problem of weapons to Israel is the same. The next time your local public school falls short on janitorial or maintenance b/c "the system" doesn't have enough money, ask why there is still plenty of money for our gov't to contract with these companies that make/sell bombs to kill Palestinians. There are Americans in the weapons business who don't want this guaranteed flow of money to dry up.