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Israel, students and the battle to divest

With South Africa in mind, United States students challenge school administrations that refuse to divest from Israel’s war on Gaza.

Israel, students and the battle to divest
By Danylo Hawaleshka
Published On 7 May 2024

History Illustrated is a weekly series of insightful perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

Israel, students and the battle to divest
The student campaign to force universities in the US to divest from Israel and the companies that profit from the war on Gaza is hitting a wall. Universities argue divesting is really hard to do. But the trouble with that argument is that divestment campaigns aren’t new. And they’ve also been shown to work.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
The campaign to force companies to divest from South Africa, due to racial segregation and discrimination, began in the 1960s and gained momentum over the next 30 years.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
That great symbol of Americana, Coca-Cola, had its operations in South Africa targeted by boycotts, and pressure on universities and pension funds to divest from the company. In 1986, Coke left.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
That same year, General Motors said inaction by the South African government, and growing pressure on corporations in the US contributed to its decision to divest by selling its assembly operations.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
It took a good 16 years to convince Barclays. Protesters targeted the bank’s annual general meetings, students forced campus branches to close and thousands of people opposed to apartheid closed their accounts before Barclays also withdrew.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
Today, student divestment campaigners are targeting companies like Caterpillar, which supplies the Israeli military with its D9 Bulldozers.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
Another target: Lockheed Martin, supplier of the F-35 fighter jet, a company that says it’s 'proud of the significant role it has fulfilled in the security of the State of Israel'.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
Then there’s General Electric, which supplies the engines that power Israel’s Apache attack helicopters, and the turbines at the Kokhav Hayarden power plant.
Israel, students and the battle to divest
So, even though the corporate targets are often clear, university administrations insist it’s complicated to divest. The students, though, aren’t buying it, and argue that the reluctance to divest is because war is profitable.