BDS

It goes without saying that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused great physical, social, and financial strain on our student population. In response, now is the right moment to discuss the burden that the cost of university is putting on students. Not only are we going through one of the worst economic recessions in American history, but the pedagogical quality of remote instruction raises a fair question about whether it’s truly worth the $60,000 price tag.

Last fall, after four years and two failed attempts to introduce a divestment referendum, Columbia College Student Council approved the proposal by Columbia University Apartheid Divest. This week, Columbia College students will vote on the divisive referendum which calls for divestment of University funds from companies that profit from Israel and the actions of the Israeli government. From September 22 to September 25, the Columbia College student body will be presented with the question: “Should Columbia University divest its stocks, funds, and endowment from companies that profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s acts toward Palestinians that, according to Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), fall under the United Nations International Convention of the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid?”

On November 24, 2019, Columbia University Apartheid Divest—a coalition between Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace—presented the Columbia College Student Council with an appeal to place a question on the upcoming ballot enabling the student population to vote on if the University should “... divest its stocks, funds, and endowment from companies that profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s acts toward Palestinians that, according to Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), fall under the United Nations International Convention of the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.” The ability to put the question on the ballot was passed in CUAD’s favor; however, the vote itself was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down campus in March and will instead be held this week.

We, two Jewish students at Columbia University, lend our full, enthusiastic support to Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s efforts to pass the referendum that urges the University to divest from companies that violate Palestinian human rights. We do not believe that Jewish people have any unique authority to speak out against Palestinian oppression, but we write from a Jewish perspective to address what we perceive as false claims that the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement is intrinsically antisemitic. These claims obscure the complexity of Jewish history in service of a political agenda that aims to suppress Palestinian dissent. As Jews, as leftists, and as people who do not support Israel, we emphatically reject this characterization.

University President Lee Bollinger addressed the issue of divestment, the lack of financial aid for international and General Studies students, and his reflections on President Trump’s impeachment trial during his semesterly Fireside Chat on Thursday.

Columbia College Student Council will vote on whether to allow Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s referendum on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in the upcoming election cycle next Sunday.

Alongside academic policy, food insecurity, and mental health reform, students have voiced one defining issue in the upcoming elections for the Columbia College Student Council: the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which calls for the University to divest from companies that “profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.”

During the Barnard Student Government Association elections last April, SGA added a referendum to the ballot to gauge students’ support for divestment from companies that “profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.”