Since October 7th, 2023, over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military operations in Gaza, including
over 13,000 children. On January 26th, the International Court of Justice found it plausible that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide, yet the Israeli military has continued its campaign. Millions of Palestinians have been
displaced, every single hospital and
university in Gaza has been attacked, and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres
stated on March 18th that the situation in Gaza "...
is the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded by the Integrated Food Security Classification system – anywhere, anytime.”
This genocide follows a decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory. In the preceding three years,
Human Rights Watch,
Amnesty International, and the
U.N. Special Rapporteur have all released reports describing Israeli policy as apartheid. Since 2005, there has been a Palestinian-led movement calling for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel in the vein of the movement to boycott apartheid South Africa.
There are many things that Pitt can do to support the call for justice for Palestinians:
1. The
Consolidated Endowment Fund is valued at approximately 5.5 billion USD. A divestment of the fund from companies complicit in apartheid, occupation, and genocide would send a strong message culturally and materially. There is precedent for this as well: in 1988 the Board of Trustees
voted to divest from companies doing business in apartheid South Africa.
2. Weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the University released a
statement condemning Russia’s invasion and standing in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian academics. However, the University has refused repeated calls to release a similar statement on behalf of Palestinians even in the face of the total destruction of Gaza's education system. 3. Palestinian civil society and academics have called for an academic boycott of Israeli universities. Universities such as Tel Aviv University and the Technion support the IDF with research programs and are complicit in apartheid. Pitt can and should cut ties with Israeli universities.
As a global institution supposedly committed to justice, equity, and inclusion, the University has a responsibility and an opportunity to use its voice and resources to support justice. We call on Pitt to take the above measures in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Signing organizations:
Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt (SJP)
Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment at Pitt (FORGE)
Students Organize for Syria at Pitt (SOS)
Helping Hands at Pitt
Middle Eastern and North African Student Association at Pitt (MENASA)
The Progressive Students for Change at Pitt (PSCP)
Luso-Brazilian Student Association at Pitt (Brazil Nuts)
Renters First Ad-Hoc Committee
Free the Planet (FTP)
Fossil Free Pitt Coalition (FFPC)
Rainbow Alliance at Pitt
Japanese Student Association at Pitt (JSA)
Asian Student Alliance at Pitt (ASA)
Muslim Student Association at Pitt (MSA)
Women of Color Collective at Pitt (WOCC)
American Civil Liberties Union Club at Pitt (ACLU)
