Across the country, an increasing number of university students and faculty are coming together in a movement reminiscent of past struggles against global injustice-a campaign to divest from investment in Israel and companies engaged in major trade with Israel. In the 1980s, university communities standing in opposition to the South African apartheid regime carried on a hard-fought campaign to call upon university endowments to divest from South Africa. This divestment campaign, leading to not only university divestment, but broader economic restrictions upon South Africa, is credited as being widely influential in the international consensus that arose in opposition to South African apartheid.

We face a similarly immoral regime today. Israel has created for Palestinians an outright apartheid regime, built on separation, oppression and dispossession. It has violated numerous UN resolutions and committed war crimes in its attacks upon the Palestinian people. Despite Israel's human rights record, our government continues to support Israel with $4 billion in annual aid, and numerous corporations-in which our universities invest as part of their foundation portfolios-engage in trade with Israel, military and nonmilitary. This trade and economic support allows the Israeli government to continue its occupation of Palestinian land and the oppressive, apartheid conditions under which Palestinians live.

Investment cannot be seen as a mere economic transaction, devoid of social responsibility and social importance. Money can be an instrument of support or a weapon of oppression. As students, faculty and alumni, we believe that our universities have a responsibility to take on social responsibility in their investments. We call upon our university foundations, therefore, to divest from Israel and companies doing business with Israel until its illegal occupation of Palestinian land and its institution of apartheid conditions upon Palestinians ceases. To that end, we will petition, demonstrate, educate and advocate, calling for divestment from Israel and social responsibility from our universities. The November 13, 2002 International Day of Action is part of that campaign.