Columbia students launch tuition strike to combat so-called ‘Israeli Apartheid’
Columbia students have announced plans for a tuition strike in the Spring 2024 semester, protesting what they term "Israeli Apartheid.'
Students at Columbia University launched plans for a tuition strike for the spring semester in protest of “Israeli apartheid.”
Organizers of the strike say that people who sign the pledge will withhold their tuition money if the pledge gets at least 1,000 signatures. According to Columbia University’s student newspaper, tuition is due on January 26.
In a list of demands, organizers of the strike asked Columbia University to hold a binding referendum for students “on the issue of divestment from companies profiting from or otherwise supporting Israeli apartheid and Columbia’s academic ties to Israel.”
“This referendum will be binding; if a majority (50% +1) of students vote in favor of divestment, Columbia will immediately divest from all companies profiting from or otherwise supporting Israeli apartheid and end their academic ties to Israel,” the list of demands state.
[RELATED: Pro-Palestine activists occupy UMich building demanding divestments from Israel]
Organizers are also demanding that “Columbia immediately remove Board of Trustees members whose personal investments, financial commitments, employment, or other forms of business involvement entail profit from or support for Israeli apartheid.”
“We demand the immediate release of financial information and data related to Columbia’s investments for the last 10 years, and a commitment to annually releasing the same information going forward,” they also demanded.
Several groups organized the strike, including Barnard-Columbia Abolition Collective (BCAC), Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), Columbia-Barnard Young Democratic Socialists of America Divestment (YDSA), and the recently suspended Columbia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Columbia University suspended both SJP and JVP on Nov. 10 after the groups “repeatedly violated University policies related to holding campus events”
Campus Reform has contacted each of the student organizations and Columbia University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
