*** RESPONSES ARE CONFIDENTIAL***

To President Loh, the Board of Regents, and the University of Maryland System Foundation:

We, a coalition of students united to advance social justice and human rights, are calling on the University of Maryland and the University of Maryland System Foundation to divest all holdings—direct investments and commingled funds—from the occupation of Palestine. By divesting its endowment from South African apartheid in the 1980s, the University of Maryland took a stand for the right side of history. As students, we call upon the University do the right thing again; this time, in solidarity with the Palestinian people. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”. This divestment campaign targets companies that support the illegal occupation of Palestine, including companies that: provide products or services that contribute to violent acts that target either Israeli or Palestinian civilians; provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance of the Israeli military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories; provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance and construction of the Separation Wall.

By calling on UMD to divest from the occupation of Palestine, we are standing in solidarity with Palestinian people (in Palestine, in refugee camps, living around the world, and learning here at UMD) calling for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. UMD’s SJP chapter has vocally and symbolically supported the BDS movement since its foundation. It is not publicly known how much the University of Maryland invests in companies that support the occupation, but these targets are large international corporations which are likely in our portfolio. Caterpillar supplies bulldozers to the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes and lands. Alliant Tech Systems provides the Israeli military with rubber-coated bullets; Boeing provides aircrafts to Israel; General Dynamics provides bombs and engines for Israeli battle tanks; all have been used in deadly assaults on Gaza. ITT Corporation provides night-vision goggles for the Israeli military to attack Palestinian communities and refugee camps in the middle of the night. By investing in these corporations, the University is not only complicit in but actively supportive of the occupation of Palestine and genocide of Palestinians.

As a place of learning meant to be inclusive for all, we have no business supporting these abhorrent violations of human rights and international law. BDS strives to accomplish 3 main goals 1) Ending the Israeli occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall 2) Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality 3) Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194

WHY DIVEST?

We believe that by targeting our university’s endowment, we can take a stand against industries and systems that perpetuate injustice in a way that is not afforded to us through the political process, as well as redefine what it means to be a progressive institution. As students, we have a right to have a say in our University’s investments and we demand an end to our complicity in the human rights atrocities occurring in Palestine and Israel. With this petition, we are pressuring the Student Government Association, University Senate, Board of Regents, and University of Maryland System Foundation to divest the school’s endowment from companies complicit in the illegal and inhumane occupation of Palestine.

If you would like to learn more and read the most recent version of our bill, please go to our website: https://divestumd.weebly.com/