One example, from just up the Ivy-garlanded I-95, at Brown University, was announced just hours before Shafik again called in the police. Brown’s governing body agreed to vote on a proposal that would divest the school’s endowment of companies affiliated with Israel in a meeting in October. The proposal is based on a 2020 Advisory Committee on Corporation Responsibility in Investment Practices that identified and recommended divestment from “companies that facilitate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory,” per the Brown Daily Herald.
In exchange, the university’s nonviolent student protesters agreed to vacate their encampment by 5 p.m. that afternoon.
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Another plausible outcome from California: When a similar encampment went up a few days ago at the University of California, Irvine, it seemed likely that police might sweep the protesters away. Orange County sheriff’s deputies began to appear in riot gear near the protest.
But, rather than traffic in vague allegations of misconduct before hiding behind a belligerent mayor and an aggressive police force, like Shafik, the UC–Irvine administration took a much different tack. “UC Irvine respects the rights of any students to engage in free speech and expression including lawful protest,” the school said in a prepared statement. This, remember, is at a public school, where keeping public police forces away is more challenging than a private enclave like Columbia.
And in fact, Irvine’s mayor did get involved in the action. Not long after that, Mayor Farrah N. Khan issued a resounding statement declaring that she would not tolerate any violation of students’ free speech or right to assembly. “I am asking our law enforcement to stand down. I will not tolerate any violations to our students’ rights to peacefully assemble and protest.” She asked the deputies to leave, and they did.
Do you REALLY think Israel leaders are saying “stop everything, there’s some kid at Colombia University protesting!” It’s ridiculous…choose your battles. Boycott, protest, and scream about things that are not fair for YOU and how you want change in YOUR country… not for other people in other countries that your protesting will have ZERO effect on.
Yeah…, these protests aren’t trying to stop Israel directly. They’re trying to effect US policy. Israel would care about the US giving them less money or less support. They would be bombed to hell without the US. They’re trying to effect our country, which effects other countries.
Again, do they REALLY think this will help US policy? I mean, this country is doing shit behind the scenes to protect itself…the US is constantly under threat because so many other countries hate us… let’s not be naive.