College Protesters Make Divestment From Israel a Rallying Cry

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As they gathered near the guarded gates of Columbia University in Upper Manhattan on Tuesday, a hundred or so protesters began to chant: “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.” “Divest” is a demand that has been repeated, on banners, in editorials in student newspapers and during rallies that are sweeping across campuses now gripped by a wave of pro-Palestinian activism. What it actually means has varied in scope, and level of detail. At Yale and Cornell, students have called on the universities to stop investing in weapons manufacturers. Columbia students are demanding the sale of holdings in funds and businesses that activists say are profiting from Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and the longer-term occupation of Palestinian lands — including Google, which has a large contract with the Israeli government, and Airbnb, which allows listings in Israeli settlements on the occupied West Bank. Researchers say the impact of any divestment would ultimately be negligible on the businesses and on Israel. They add that if universities give up votes as shareholders at the companies, divestment could even be counterproductive in pressuring companies to change their practices.