MSU faculty push for divestment from Israeli-linked companies
Faculty members at Michigan State University have recently critiqued the institution’s investments in companies with connections to Israel, with some calling for divestment.
Faculty members at Michigan State University have recently critiqued the institution’s investments in companies with connections to Israel, with some calling for divestment.
“Our investments right now do not promote MSU’s mission and values,” said Alexandra Allweiss, an assistant professor at MSU, according to the Lansing State Journal.
According to her biography on MSU’s website, Allweiss’ work “draws on and contributes to the fields of comparative and international education, feminist and decolonial theories, youth studies and critical theories of education.”
“These past 10 months have been surreal,” said Waseem El-Rayes, an associate professor at the university. “I wake up to news of massacres of people in so-called ‘safe zones,’ and then I talk to the investment office and administration and told it doesn’t matter.”
“If they’re interested in socially responsible investments, why are they saying they have no control over the investments?” El-Rayes added. “It’s hypocritical and disappointing.”
Another professor critiqued the university for its ties to Israel because, as she argued, the investments ensure that MSU has an interest in Israel’s economy “doing well.”
“When an institution like MSU takes on the sovereign bond, the institution has a material stake in the success of the state,” said Jennifer Goett, an associate professor at MSU. “Because we are being paid by them, we are invested in Israel’s economy doing well.”
According to her biography on MSU’s website, Goett is a “cultural anthropologist” who specializes in “political and feminist anthropology.” Goett’s research includes “race, gender and feminist theory.”
Some faculty previously wrote a letter calling for divestment from Israel, which was signed by more than 170 faculty members, according to the Lansing State Journal.
“A rubicon has been crossed in the Gaza Strip,” the faculty wrote in their open letter. “Israel has converted this 140 square mile enclave into a landscape of death and utter destruction in six short months.”
“Divestment from financial holdings that support and profit from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is the ethical means to demonstrate our collective opposition to this historic genocide,” the faculty continued. “We will continue to advocate for this targeted divestment until MSU’s Board of Trustees meets our demands.”
“Divestment actions are powerful due to their moral weight and the work they do to build movements for a more just world,” the group concluded. “Divestment movements matter.”
Professors Goett, El-Rayes, and Allweiss all signed the open letter.
Campus Reform has contacted Michigan State University, Professor Alexandra Allweiss, Professor Jennifer Goett, and Professor Waseem El-Rayes for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
