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برچسب: divest

  • UC has $32 billion in assets targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters, but no plans to divest

    UC has $32 billion in assets targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters, but no plans to divest


    Hundreds of San Diego State students protest in support of Palestinians on April 30, 2024.

    Credit: Jazlyn Dieguez / EdSource

    The University of California disclosed Tuesday that it has $32 billion invested in assets that pro-Palestinian protesters demand the university divest, including weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel.

    The university, however, has no plans to sell off those assets, despite the recent protests and encampments across the UC system, a spokesperson reiterated Tuesday.

    The system’s chief investment officer, Jagdeep Singh Bachher, outlined the investments during a meeting Tuesday of the investments committee for UC’s board of regents. Bachher’s list responded to specific demands from the protesters and included broader investments in U.S. Treasuries, which he added in response to the request that UC divest from assets that support Israel. “The answer to that question is the U.S. government,” he said, referring to the aid and weapons that the government sends to Israel. 

    The full list of investments include:

    • $3.3 billion in weapons manufacturers
    • $12 billion in U.S. Treasuries 
    • $163 million in BlackRock, an asset manager that owns shares of companies that support Israel
    • $2.1 billion in investments managed for UC by BlackRock
    • $8.6 billion in the investment firm Blackstone, also targeted by protesters
    • $3.2 billion in 24 other companies targeted by protesters, including Coca-Cola and Disney

    “So if I interpret the questions and the responses mathematically with numbers, the letter sent to us would suggest that we should sell $32 billion of assets out of the $175 billion,” Bachher said, referring to the system’s entire investment portfolio.

    The investments committee took no action toward divestment Tuesday, nor did it suggest they were considering doing so. 

    When reached Tuesday, a spokesperson for the system also said UC stands behind its April 26 statement opposing the idea of divestment.

    “The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel,” UC said at the time. “While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.”

    Demands for UC and other universities to divest from Israel have heightened in recent weeks as pro-Palestinian encampments and protests have swept the country since last month, including at UCLA and other UC campuses. 

    Driving the encampments are calls for divestment from companies doing significant business with Israel. The protesters see universities as complicit in Israel’s war in Gaza. More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including many women and children, according to health authorities. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people.

    Tuesday’s financial disclosures followed a lengthy public comment period in which many commenters called on UC to divest.

    “I wanted to emphasize my support for the Palestinian encampment students and faculty and to strongly support their call for divestment from all investments in the military industrial complex,” said Darlene Lee, a faculty member in UCLA’s teacher education program and a UCLA alum. “Educational funds should go towards education and community and not war.”

    Calls for UC to divest are likely to continue Wednesday, when the regents will convene for the second of their three-day meeting at UC Merced. Ahead of the regents meeting, protesters at UC Merced set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus, making Merced the latest of UC’s 10 campuses to establish such an encampment.

    In a statement posted on Instagram, organizers of the encampment wrote that they are demanding UC to divest, call for a ceasefire in Gaza and end ties with Israel, including study-abroad programs.

    “The UC regents are meeting on our campus. … They will hear us!,” the organizers wrote.





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  • UC has $32 billion in assets targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters, but no plans to divest

    UC has $32 billion in assets targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters, but no plans to divest


    Hundreds of San Diego State students protest in support of Palestinians on April 30, 2024.

    Credit: Jazlyn Dieguez / EdSource

    The University of California disclosed Tuesday that it has $32 billion invested in assets that pro-Palestinian protesters demand the university divest, including weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel.

    The university, however, has no plans to sell off those assets, despite the recent protests and encampments across the UC system, a spokesperson reiterated Tuesday.

    The system’s chief investment officer, Jagdeep Singh Bachher, outlined the investments during a meeting Tuesday of the investments committee for UC’s board of regents. Bachher’s list responded to specific demands from the protesters and included broader investments in U.S. Treasuries, which he added in response to the request that UC divest from assets that support Israel. “The answer to that question is the U.S. government,” he said, referring to the aid and weapons that the government sends to Israel. 

    The full list of investments include:

    • $3.3 billion in weapons manufacturers
    • $12 billion in U.S. Treasuries 
    • $163 million in BlackRock, an asset manager that owns shares of companies that support Israel
    • $2.1 billion in investments managed for UC by BlackRock
    • $8.6 billion in the investment firm Blackstone, also targeted by protesters
    • $3.2 billion in 24 other companies targeted by protesters, including Coca-Cola and Disney

    “So if I interpret the questions and the responses mathematically with numbers, the letter sent to us would suggest that we should sell $32 billion of assets out of the $175 billion,” Bachher said, referring to the system’s entire investment portfolio.

    The investments committee took no action toward divestment Tuesday, nor did it suggest they were considering doing so. 

    When reached Tuesday, a spokesperson for the system also said UC stands behind its April 26 statement opposing the idea of divestment.

    “The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel,” UC said at the time. “While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.”

    Demands for UC and other universities to divest from Israel have heightened in recent weeks as pro-Palestinian encampments and protests have swept the country since last month, including at UCLA and other UC campuses. 

    Driving the encampments are calls for divestment from companies doing significant business with Israel. The protesters see universities as complicit in Israel’s war in Gaza. More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including many women and children, according to health authorities. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people.

    Tuesday’s financial disclosures followed a lengthy public comment period in which many commenters called on UC to divest.

    “I wanted to emphasize my support for the Palestinian encampment students and faculty and to strongly support their call for divestment from all investments in the military industrial complex,” said Darlene Lee, a faculty member in UCLA’s teacher education program and a UCLA alum. “Educational funds should go towards education and community and not war.”

    Calls for UC to divest are likely to continue Wednesday, when the regents will convene for the second of their three-day meeting at UC Merced. Ahead of the regents meeting, protesters at UC Merced set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus, making Merced the latest of UC’s 10 campuses to establish such an encampment.

    In a statement posted on Instagram, organizers of the encampment wrote that they are demanding UC to divest, call for a ceasefire in Gaza and end ties with Israel, including study-abroad programs.

    “The UC regents are meeting on our campus. … They will hear us!,” the organizers wrote.





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  • CSU reports only indirect investments in Israel; no plans to divest

    CSU reports only indirect investments in Israel; no plans to divest


    Hundreds of San Diego State students protest in support of Palestinians in April.

    Credit: Jazlyn Dieguez / EdSource

    The California State University system disclosed on Tuesday that it does not have direct investments in any companies that might profit from Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and the war in Gaza but has a small amount of indirect holdings through mutual funds.

    The disclosure was made in response to demands by pro-Palestinian student and faculty protests on campuses for CSU to divest from any such companies.

    However, CSU officials again said they will not sell off any of that indirect investment, echoing the position of the University of California. “The CSU does not intend to alter existing investment policies related to Israel,” according to a statement on the CSU website.

    The 23-campus university system had disclosed in April it does not invest in “direct stocks or equities in any companies,” regardless of location. Officials on Tuesday offered additional details about indirect investments in Israel-based firms via holdings in mutual funds that include equities and corporate bonds. Those total $3.2 million, or 0.04%, of all CSU investments, according to a report discussed during Tuesday’s systemwide board of trustees meeting.

    A list of funds CSU invests in was included in a report to the trustees. However, that did not include holdings that individual campuses and related foundations might own separately from the central system. A portal on the university system’s website details revenue and other financial details on each campus.

    A newly published page on CSU’s website says: “Consistent with their legal structures, CSU investments and auxiliary investments are distinct from one another.”

    But given a recent controversy at Sonoma State and the retirement of its president over his promise to discuss possible divestment from firms with ties to Israel, it seems unlikely that any campus would take such an action now.

    Students have also called on the university to divest from all defense and aerospace investments, but officials have refused to do so. CSU has direct ownership of $20.8 million in such bonds and some exposure via mutual funds, totaling $30.6 million of the system’s investments. In total, defense and aerospace investments make up 0.62% of the CSU system’s central investment portfolio.

    CSU Chancellor Mildred García, during her address to the board, made no direct mention of the calls for divestment. But she did urge any protests to be peaceful and to not harm other members of the CSU communities. “The CSU stands unequivocally against acts of hatred, violence, injustice, discrimination, and more specifically antisemitism and Islamophobia,” Garcia said.

    University campuses nationwide have struggled with how to handle protests in recent weeks, actions mainly against Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Israel’s bombardment of the Hamas-controlled Gaza followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in hundreds of hostages being taken. Since then, more than 35,000 people in Gaza have been killed, mostly civilians, and thousands more have been injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

    The new CSU webpage also details the university’s response to common questions regarding investments in both Israel and the defense and aerospace industries. But one trustee questioned the focus on Israel.

    “I’m not comfortable singling out Israel on a website without singling out Sudan and Russia,” said trustee Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, regarding the information on the webpage. “I’m on the side of human rights and following countries that follow international human rights law.”

    Among the individual CSU campuses, Sacramento State has disclosed that it has no direct investments in assets that might violate its policies forbidding “direct investments in corporations and funds that profit from genocide, ethnic cleansing and activities that violate fundamental human rights,” according to a statement on the university’s website. Reporting by The Sacramento Bee found that Sacramento State “has more $150 million in indirect investments that would be subject for review” under its policy.

    Most recently, Sonoma State University President Mike Lee was disciplined for agreeing to some terms proposed by student protesters on his campus. One such term was “to determine a course of action leading to divestment strategies that include seeking ethical alternatives” to companies with ties to Israel.

    The system’s chancellor, García, then said Lee would be placed on administrative leave for “insubordination and the consequences it has brought upon the system” and acting “without the appropriate approvals.”

    Lee has since apologized and announced his retirement. “In my attempt to find agreement with one group of students, I marginalized other members of our student population and community,” he wrote in a memo last week. “I realize the harm that this has caused, and I take full ownership of it. I deeply regret the unintended consequences of my actions.”





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