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Associated Students of Portland State University Pass Divestment Resolution In Support of Palestinian Human Rights

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Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller
Published: 26 October 2016 26 October 2016



 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2016
 ​        ​        ​
Associated Students of Portland State University Pass Divestment Resolution In Support of Palestinian Human Rights


Portland, OR (October 26, 2016)— The student senate of the Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU) passed a resolution earlier this week brought forward by Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER). The resolution calls on the university to divest from Israeli apartheid by an overwhelming vote of 22-2, with 1 abstention.

The resolution was passed after seven years of work by SUPER, which presented to the student senate. The central focus of the resolution is to prohibit investment in four corporations complicit in the oppression of Palestinians: Hewlett-Packard, Motorola Solutions, G4S and Caterpillar.  Hewlett-Packard provides biometric ID systems to the Israeli military that enables discriminatory treatment of Palestinians, playing a similar role that Polaroid did in apartheid South Africa. Motorola provides surveillance and communication systems supporting Israel's occupation and illegal settlements. G4Sprovides systems and support for Israel's imprisonment of political prisoners and children under unjust military rule. Caterpillar provides militarized bulldozers, which are complicit with numerous human rights violations and are used to destroy Palestinian homes, orchards, and civilian infrastructure.

It was resolved that the ASPSU call on Portland State University to divest any current and future holdings in the companies mentioned above, and any other company deemed to profit from human rights violations against Palestinians. Furthermore, the resolution more specially resolved, "that the Associated Students of Portland State University ASPSU calls on the University to put in place an internal investment screen which prohibits investment in any company that provides weapons or equipment used for violent acts that target either Israeli or Palestinian civilians; provides equipment used for the displacement of Palestinians from their homes or the construction and maintenance of illegal and unethical Israeli government authorized settlements; or supplies equipment used for the construction or maintenance of the Separation Wall in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”

The passing of this resolution means the students of Portland State University have spoken: moving forward, the university should cease investing in these companies. "These four companies aren't only responsible for human rights violations in Palestine, but all over the world," according to SUPER. "They are also involved in the U.S. prison system, immigration and human rights violations all around the globe.”

We believe in justice and equality for all people, and are proud that our campus is now on the right side of history. We hope our university’s decision may encourage others to also stand for human rights. We urge other members of the university community and other universities to pursue the same path of justice, and to continue to make history towards a free Palestine.

For more information:
Hewlett-Packard: http://investigate.afsc.org/company/hewlett-packard-company
Motorola Solutions: http://investigate.afsc.org/company/motorola-solutions-inc
G4S: http://investigate.afsc.org/company/g4s-plc
Caterpillar: http://investigate.afsc.org/company/caterpillar-inc

 

From Standing Rock to Palestine, the Caterpillar Bulldozers at Work for the Colonial Project

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Written by Léopold Lambert Léopold Lambert
Published: 12 September 2016 12 September 2016

From Standing Rock to Palestine, the Caterpillar Bulldozers at Work for the Colonial Project

(for links and other information, see original article)

 

 

Two Caterpillar bulldozers at work (left: Rafah, Palestine in 2002,      right: Standing Rock, ND on Native sacred burial ground in 2016)

Since April 1, 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, later followed by over 200 other Native nations, has been occupying the sacred site of Standing Rock in order to protect it against the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline (named after the two American States, not the Native nation of course), which would carry Bakken crude from North Dakota to Illinois. Yesterday (September 8),  North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple has called for the U.S. National Guard to intervene at Standing Rock a few hours before the ruling of a lawsuit that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has brought against the U.S. government. A few days earlier, some Native organizers had been attacked by dogs ordered by private security force, and bulldozers had demolished a sacred burial ground (see the Democracy Now report here).

Read more: From Standing Rock to Palestine, the Caterpillar Bulldozers at Work for the Colonial Project

PRESS RELEASE: UN Coordinator calls for international support for Gaza

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Written by UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities
Published: 31 August 2016 31 August 2016


Gaza, 31 August 2016

Following a visit today to the occupied Gaza Strip with diplomats from Australia, Belgium, Canada, the EU, and the UK, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities, Robert Piper, called for increased diplomatic and donor action to reduce reliance on aid, increase respect for international law and accelerate recovery and reconstruction.
 
“This week two years ago, Palestinians in Gaza were breathing a sigh of relief following 51 days of hostilities that left over 1,450 civilian deaths, more than 11,000 injuries and two million tons of rubble in its wake,” recalled Mr. Piper, “Today, many of the physical damages have been repaired, once again, but the horizon remains bleak as Gaza’s isolation enters its tenth consecutive year”.
 
In Beit Hanoun, the delegation heard from some of the 65,000 Palestinians who remain displaced, two years later, as well as from the victims and families on their expectations for accountability for violations of international humanitarian law that occurred during the hostilities.
 

Read more: PRESS RELEASE: UN Coordinator calls for international support for Gaza

Israel Approves Hundreds of Homes in West Bank Settlements

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Written by Yotam Berger Yotam Berger
Published: 31 August 2016 31 August 2016

Israel approved on Wednesday the construction of hundreds of new housing units in West bank settlements and retroactively legalized dozens more.

The plan has already been approved at the political level.

The Civil Administration's High Planning Committee approved the building of 234 homes in Elkana, which are designated by the plan as a nursing home, 31 homes in Beit Arye, and 20 homes in Givat Ze'ev. The committee has also legalized 178 housing units which were built in Beit Arye the 1980s.

The housing units planned for Elkana still require objections to be heard before a final approval is granted.

The construction of 30 housing units originally planned for the settlement of Efrat, however, were not approved by the panel.

The Civil Administration is the Israeli agency that oversees services for residents of the occupied West Bank.

Earlier this month, a Jerusalem district panel approved the construction of 56 homes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot, located across the Green Line.

The additional housing will not expand the boundaries of the neighborhood, but will increase building density within Ramot.

Last week, Haaretz reported that Israel plans to expand the Jewish settlement in the West Bank city of Hebron for the first time in over a decade. The U.S. State Department expressed "deep concern" about the intention to advance construction for settlers there.

"We strongly oppose all settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace. And we’ve said repeatedly such moves are not consistent with Israel’s stated desire to achieve a two-state solution," a State Department spokesman said.

Israel police chief says it is natural to suspect Ethiopians of crime

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Written by Peter Beaumont | theguardian.com Peter Beaumont | theguardian.com
Published: 31 August 2016 31 August 2016

Israel’s most senior police officer has provoked outrage by suggesting it is “natural” for officers to suspect Israelis of Ethiopian origin – as well as Arabs – of being more involved in crime than other Jews.

Roni Alsheich, Israel’s police commissioner, made the comments in response to a question at a conference of the Israeli bar association, suggesting more widely that research worldwide showed that “young people and immigrants” were disproportionately involved in crime.

His remarks come against a growing background of complaints by Ethiopian Jews over policing of their community – including accusations of crude profiling – which has led to recent street protests.

Read more: Israel police chief says it is natural to suspect Ethiopians of crime

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