A core demand over by the pro-Palestinian student groups at Columbia University was for the school to withdraw investment funds from what they describe as companies profiting from Israel’s war in Gaza.
The group has described those companies as profiting “from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine.” Israel denies accusations of genocide.
Columbia now lists five areas where it refrains from investing: tobacco, private prison operations, thermal coal, Sudan and fossil fuels — all decisions made in the past decade.
Columbia was also the first Ivy League university to divest from South Africa, and various other colleges followed suit.
In 2015, Columbia became the first US university to divest from private prison companies after a student campaign raising concerns about human rights abuses.
Persons:
” Israel
Organizations:
Columbia University, Columbia, Ivy League, Columbia’s, Trustees
Locations:
Gaza, Palestine, Columbia, Sudan, South Africa