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Articles: Divestment Unreasonable
Written by Yair Fuxman
Published in The Hoya on 02/17/2006[see original]
See also
other letters to the editor and write-in responses
other articles published in The Hoya
To the Editor:
According to The Washington Post, the movement to divest from Israel was sparked by a speech given in 2000 by University of Illinois law professor Francis A. Boyle. Dozens of campaigns emerged on college campuses across the nation, from Berkeley to Ohio State to Yale.
These campaigns all share one thing in common: They have failed. More than five years after Boyle’s clarion call, not one college or university has officially agreed to divest. Isn’t it time for the Palestine Solidarity Movement to rethink its goals and strategy?
PSM’s principal failure is the false premise that only one side is to blame for the conflict, that only one side has the responsibility to act towards peace.
A second major PSM failure is not noticing or responding to important changes in the region. The Israeli people have tired of waiting for a Palestinian partner willing and able to negotiate for peace and have resolved to move unilaterally. Already Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank have been emptied of Israeli soldiers and settlements, and a majority of Israelis supports continued withdrawals in the West Bank.
In the meantime Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians continue, and the new Hamas-led Palestinian government has rejected even recognizing Israel’s right to exist. With Israelis poised to take important steps towards peace, how does divesting bring us any closer to that goal? Promoting divestment in this context shows that PSM neither cares about peace nor about Israeli policies. It is Israel itself they reject.
Instead of divesting, why not invest in peace and cooperation? Why not invest in Seeds of Peace, or any one of countless other groups set up to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer together? Divestment has failed — isn’t it time to turn in a more positive direction?
Yair Fuxman
Continuing Education Graduate Student
Feb. 14, 2006