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UT student senate considers divesting from companies tied to Israeli occupation of Palestine

UT student senate considers divesting from companies tied to Israeli occupation of Palestine

The University of Toledo’s student senate is expected to consider a resolution Tuesday calling for the university to divest from companies tied to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

University of Toledo Students for Justice in Palestine supports the resolution.

Student government President Clayton Notestine confirmed that the proposal’s backers intend to introduce it at an 8:15 p.m. student senate meeting in the student union. Mr. Notestine, who said he is neutral on the controversial topic, said he wants to make sure the meeting is conducted safely, though he doesn’t expect problems and expects it to be a well-attended meeting.

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UT spokesman Jon Strunk said a UT police officer who routinely staffs the meeting will be present.

“At this point, we are confident that everyone will attend the meeting and debate according to the rules of the senate,” he said.

A draft of a resolution provided by Mr. Notestine calls for the University of Toledo Foundation to divest from mutual funds that invest in companies connected to occupation.

Representatives for the Students for Justice in Palestine could not be reached for immediate comment, but the group’s Facebook page described the resolution’s presentation as “the culminating action” of a campaign that has built since the group’s formation four years ago.

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“We are on the forefront of the struggle against injustice, and this is something all UT students should be proud of, especially us SJP activists who have worked so hard for this over the years,” the message stated.

The resolution is opposed by the Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo and Hillel Greater Toledo, a campus Jewish organization. A statement released by Hillel characterized the proposed action as an attempt to “isolate and delegitimize Israel.”

We are concerned about the potential implication this will have in creating hostility against the small Jewish community at UT, and we are meeting members of the university administration and student leaders before the scheduled vote to alert them to the harm this resolution will cause not only to our Jewish community, but to the UT community at large,“ the statement read. ”We wish that the students who created this resolution had recognized and taken advantage of the opportunity for our community to exchange ideas and engage in civil dialogue about an issue that many of us care about. It is disappointing that they instead chose to engage in tactics that divide the campus community and prevent us from moving forward in a positive way.“

Similar resolutions have debated by student governments at other universities, with mixed results.

In 1986, the UT board of trustees agreed to withdraw investments in companies doing business in South Africa as part of a movement against apartheid.

If the divestment resolution is approved by the UT student senate, Mr. Notestine said he doesn’t plan to veto it, and the resolution would be forwarded to university administration.

Mr. Strunk would not say how administrators view the proposal.

“We’ll await the outcome,” he said. “We wouldn’t want to make it seem like we are influencing student government by deciding before they [decide].”

First Published February 16, 2015, 10:09 p.m.

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