Discussing Divestment in Wisconsin

It was Hillel vs. Al-awda Wisconsin last week, as representatives of both groups met with the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to present their respective cases on why the school should or should not divest funds from Israel. Tom Schalmo and Pamela Buechel talked to both sides for The Badger Herald:

Molly Fields, a junior at UW-Whitewater and member of the Hillel Foundation, advised the regents to avoid divesting funds from Israel.
“I’m asking that we not divest funds from companies in Israel because this would just tell [Israelis] that we do not support them in trying to keep the peace and trying to keep the country together,� Fields said.
[…]
Another group, Al-awda Wisconsin, urged the regents to divest funds from companies that support Israel.
“Be it resolved that the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to divest from any company that does business with or in the state of Israel,� said Haley Pollack, a graduate student at UW and member of Al-awda. “[This is] based on the evidence of the active roles these companies play in enabling Israeli forces to engage in practices that violate international law and the human rights policy,�
Al-awda, which means “the return� in Arabic, supports the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland of Palestine and is most concerned with refugees’ rights.
[…]
UW Professor of Sociology Chad Goldberg said the situation in Israel is much different than that of Sudan, of which the regents have divested funds.
“I completely agree with Al-awda that the Board of Regents should continue its commitment to socially responsible investing,� Goldberg said. “But I think we need a single standard and a consistent policy with regard to human rights abuses around the world, not one that picks out the only democracy in the Middle East.�

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