Activist group vows to fight on, accusing the school of profiting from ‘human rights abuses’
Harvard University has rejected activist student demands to divest from Israel, stating that the proposal would “declare an institutional position” on a divisive issue.
University President Alan Garber wrote that the university would not “use its endowment funds to endorse a contested view on a complex issue” in an email to Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine following a recent meeting with the student group, The Harvard Crimson reported Tuesday.
During the meeting, HOOP proposed a “human rights investment policy statement” and the creation of a task force to review Harvard’s investments, specifically targeting divestment from companies associated with Israel.
Garber stated that the proposal is too political and closely resembles previous demands to divest from Israel, which the school has consistently declined.
“[I]n practice, it does not differ substantially from prior demands: the proposal declares that Israel is engaged in both apartheid and genocide, that its territorial holdings are illegal, and that Harvard Management…
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