Around 200 people gathered in the Performance Hall at the Ohio Union Wednesday during the Undergraduate Student Government’s General Assembly meeting. Credit: Gabe Haferman | Assistant Photo Editor
Around 200 people gathered in the Performance Hall at the Ohio Union Wednesday during the Undergraduate Student Government’s General Assembly meeting both in support and opposition of a proposed emergency resolution that looks for Ohio State to divest from two companies it says contributes to human rights violations against Palestinians.
More than 50 students and Columbus community members spoke during an open forum session lasting more than three hours. Many spoke on the implications the initiative could have on campus, including increased levels of antisemitism and continued support of violated human rights of Palestinians. Others urged both the Jewish and Palestinian communities to come together to encourage peace.
According to a copy of the resolution obtained by The Lantern, the sponsors — Sens. Rama Naboulsi, Yondris Ferguson, John Fuller, Julius McIntyre and Suhavi Salmon-Rekhi — look for Ohio State to boycott Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
The resolution was not introduced to the General Assembly for a vote. As an emergency resolution, it was not on the General Assembly’s schedule for the meeting and would have been introduced and discussed at the meeting. However, the General Assembly meeting adjourned at 11 p.m. when the Union closed.
The resolution stated that Hewlett Packard Enterprise has provided technology used by the Israeli military “which facilitate discrimination against Palestinians, restrict their freedom of movement, and limit their access to education, employment, and medical care.”
Hewlett Packard Enterprise did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The land has been fought over for the last century, with several wars breaking out — the last one being in 2014, during which 2,251 Palestinians and 73 Israelis were killed, according to a 2015 report by the United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry.
Caterpillar Inc. provides engineering tools and bulldozers used to expand settlements in Palestine, construct a separation wall in the West Bank and demolish Palestinian homes and refugee camps, according to the resolution.
“By investing in such companies, The Ohio State University implicitly condones and profits from the decisions and actions of these companies, and, as such, becomes guilty by association when such consequences from the actions and divestments of these companies, including, but certainly not limited to, the killing of innocent civilians,” the resolution stated.
Caterpillar Inc. was unable to provide a comment by the time of publication.
Alex Grosman, a Jewish student and opponent of the resolution, spoke about his fear that the resolution’s passage would encourage antisemitism on campus.
“This threatens the direct personal and physical and emotional safety of every member of the OSU Jewish community, including myself,” Grosman, a second-year in international studies, said.
Donia Al-kashkish, a first-year in neuroscience, spoke about her family members in Palestine who she said have struggled to obtain medical treatment in Israel.
In January 2018, USG passed an amended resolution to create a committee of senators to investigate the university’s investment in companies possibly linked to human rights abuses in the United States. A previous version of the resolution included international human rights abuses as well but was removed due to opposition from students.
However, the committee was not formed, according to a December 2018 Lantern article.
USG rejected a resolution in December 2018 that sought for Ohio State to cut ties with any Israeli products and institutional support to stand against the Israeli government. If passed, the resolution would have asked Ohio State to stop all investments or contracts with Caterpillar Incorporated, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Sabra Dipping Company.
“The Ohio State University, which claims to advocate for justice and quality, should not be investing in companies that continue to dehumanize and contribute to the prevention of medical care in overall violation of any group’s human rights, specifically Palestinians,” Al-kashkish said.
University spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email the university’s endowment is not funded with tuition or fees, and the university follows “all applicable laws regarding investments.”
“Ohio State has an unwavering commitment to free speech and encourages our students, faculty and staff to engage in discussion and debate,” Johnson said.
The Lantern requested verification of and details from the contracts with Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise from the university that were not available by the time of publication.
Mariyam Muhammad contributed reporting.
Editor’s note: This article was updated March 30 at 11 p.m. to include previous resolutions USG has voted on regarding divestment from companies potentially engaging in human rights abuses.
Correction: This story was updated to clarify the conflict between Israel and Palestine to match previous reporting. It also previously misstated Donia Al-kashkish’s name and major.
