Supporters of USG divestment resolution see bill as motivation for continued advocacy for Palestinians

Kyle Meddles, Danny Fogarty
Wed, 13 Apr 2022 02:17:57 +0000
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USG passed a resolution for Ohio State to divest from companies that conduct business in Israel during a General Assembly meeting April 6. Credit: Jessica Langer | Campus LTV Producer

Palestinians and other supporters of the Undergraduate Student Government’s recent divestment resolution see the decision as inspiration to continue fighting against human rights violations against Palestinians.?

The resolution asked Ohio State to divest from two companies conducting business in Israel, which it stated contribute to human rights violations against Palestinians. USG passed the resolution during a General Assembly meeting Wednesday, which around 200 students attended to watch senators speak and vote on the bill.

The resolution was not initially on the agenda, but USG’s General Assembly voted to act as the Steering Committee, which sets the agendas for the assembly during the meeting, according to the USG bylaws. Once the resolution was on the agenda, senators passed a motion to vote on the resolution before an open forum.

Khalid Dada, a third-year in public policy analysis and an alternate USG senator who voted in favor of the resolution, said the bill was 10 years in the making. He said he did not imagine it passing, but he is glad it did in the end.

“It is something that was far-fetched for us even this year,” Dada said. “So, our community honestly is just super excited, super full of life.”

According to a copy of the bill obtained by The Lantern, the sponsors — Sens. Rama Naboulsi, Yondris Ferguson, John Fuller and Suhavi Salmon-Rekhi — suggested the university divest from Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Dada, president of the Muslim Students’ Association and vice president of Students for Justice in Palestine at Ohio State, said he worked closely with Naboulsi, the lead sponsor of the bill, to write the resolution. He said he hopes the university forms a committee to deal with human rights violations occurring in Palestine.?

The resolution stated Hewlett Packard Enterprise has provided technology used by the Israeli military “which facilitate discrimination against Palestinians, restrict their freedom of movement, and limit their access to education, employment, and medical care.”

The resolution also stated Caterpillar Inc. provides engineering tools and bulldozers used to expand settlements in Palestine, construct a separation wall in the West Bank and demolish Palestinian homes and refugee camps.?

Angelina Atieh, a second-year in biomedical science and president of Students for Justice in Palestine, said she believes the resolution aligns with the university’s philosophy.

“If you’re a student on a campus that prides itself on not discriminating against any students based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual identity, etc., it is sort of counterintuitive for that same institution to invest in companies that don’t do those things,” Atieh said.

Daoud Al-Akhras, a third-year in economics, said some senators were not comfortable with the idea of a divestment resolution because it had been labeled as a controversial issue. He said beyond USG, this issue has not been discussed much in the U.S.?

“Palestine representation, we can see throughout the United States, has lacked, and to support something like this just allows for a marginalized group to have an amplified voice,” Al-Akhras said.

Leading up to approval of the resolution, its opponents feared it would prompt an increase in antisemitism across campus.

Dada said this fear was something the bill’s supporters thought about when creating and voting on this resolution, and antisemitism is not something they stand for.

“We have done our due diligence to make sure that our supporters and our community understand what this means and that we in no way are trying to spread hate of anyone at all,” Dada said. “All our resolution was solely focused on was the human rights violations of Palestine.”?

Atieh said getting the approval of the student body was just the beginning for the bill, with the end goal of getting the university to divest from companies like those addressed in the approved resolution.

“We’re going to have to create a very strategic and compelling campaign to get a West, U.S. administration to actually divest and take money out of these companies involved in human rights violations of Palestinians,” Atieh said.