What means "divest?"
It's one of the core demands of most pro-Palestine protesters
Vox has a pretty good explainer on what protesters means when they ask colleges and universities to divest from Israel. This goes to the heart of a little-discussed part of higher education — namely, massive endowment funds that are invested in a variety of entities, including the military-industrial complex.
Higher education investments are complicated and as intertwined as an old root. Even if you are paying attention to your own investments — should you have same — saying, “I don’t want to invest in” such-and-so businesses is not necessarily a guarantee your money isn’t going toward those businesses.
For example, from that linked CBS story:
For instance, Columbia University, whose campus has become a lightning rod in the pro-Palestinian protest movement, has an endowment worth $13.6 billion that encompasses 6,200 funds.
From CNN, divesting…
…is intended not only to reallocate funds to more ethical investments but also to make a public statement that can pressure a company or government to change policies.
Along with asking for divesting, protesters have been asking for disclosure, or publication of where universities put their money.
Sometimes, as with anti-apartheid efforts in South Africa, if divestment is coupled with boycotts, the answer is a qualified yes.
I suppose we shall see.
I imagine divestment from vaguely defined types of investments of a large endowment would take time and be an on-going process. In other words, agreement to do it doesn't mean it'll be done tomorrow. I like what Northwestern U is doing.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/student-protesters-reach-deal-northwestern-university-sparks-criticism-109815551
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/05/09/opinion-peaceful-resolution-northwestern-protests/
I'm not surprised they more quickly reached a resolution. Back in my college days, I worked for a professor from the business school who was doing research work with a law professor on resolving labor union disputes through mediation (vs arbitration). I would guess Northwestern had some experts available to assist in resolving this current situation.
All the protests, all the calls for blue blood universities to divest distract from the murders, rapes, pillaging and hostage taking that were perpetuated by Hamas, a terrorist organization committed to killing Jews and eliminating the state of Israel. I agree with the right to peaceful protests and calling for the elites to divest BUT we cannot sugar coat Hamas and treat them like they care about the population they were entrusted to govern. In America we have MAGA cultists who deny the Holocaust! Right here in CT we've had NUMEROUS acts of anti-semitism within our neighborhoods. We must stand up against hate, indiscriminate killing of innocents and NEVER forget history that inevitably repeats itself!