The Queen’s chapter of student advocacy group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) swung a long banner over the balcony of Stauffer Library at Queen’s last week. The poster claimed Queen’s University invests $43 million in the Israeli occupation.
Pro-Palestine protests stretched through SPHR’s Israeli Apartheid Week on March 7 and 8, culminating with the Palestinian flag being raised atop Grant Hall. Over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The advocacy group, which isn’t ratified by the AMS, concluded the University invests $43 million in Israel’s occupation, after sifting through its Pooled Endowment and Pooled Investment Funds—which total a combined $2.15 billion.
of SPHR created a spreadsheet listing Queen’s investments that have any connection with Israel’s settlements in the West Bank or the war in Gaza. The spreadsheet pulls information from the Who Profits? Research Center, the Canadian BDS Coalition, the Investigate Project from the American Friends Service Committee, and both Israeli and Palestinian local news sites.
“The ultimate goal is to have [Queen’s] cut ties entirely with all corporations that are involved in the apartheid, as well as divest from those,” SPHR member Yara Hussein, ArtSci ’24 told The Journal.
“[Queen’s should] invest it in companies and institutions that do fit within their Responsible Investment Policy.”
Students at other universities, like McGill, have been calling for divestment. At Brown University in the US, students held a week-long hunger strike to garner attention from the school’s istration.
At the time of publication, Queen’s invests in aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, which SPHR says manufactures weapons routinely used in war crimes against Palestinian civilians. Lockheed Martin’s stock has risen 8.7 per cent since the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7.
Some multinational vehicle companies listed on the spreadsheet—like Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, or Volkswagen—don’t supply military equipment but have links to Israel’s government or their occupation of the West Bank, according to SPHR.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) uses Toyota and Ford vehicles, and Mercedes trucks to transport tanks. Israel’s police also use vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen’s subsidiary MAN, according to the spreadsheet.
Airbnb is flagged for having rentals in Israeli settlements. Wix is mentioned for being an Israeli company. US-based First Solar Inc. is listed for providing solar s to a farm on an Israeli settlement.
“[Divesting] adds pressure onto companies like Airbnb to [stop] advancing the illegal settlement projects that are in the occupied territories,” Hussein said.
Airbnb’s operations could be “normalizing” Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, which is considered unlawful by most legal experts, Queen’s political studies Professor Oded Haklai told The Journal. Haklai was in Israel during Hamas’ attack on October 7 and researches Palestinian-Israeli relations.
“It becomes a question of principle, not a question that is Israel-Gaza specific, but a question of principles that are applied generally,” Haklai said, referencing investment in China’s regime given its history of repression.
It’s difficult to calculate the exact amount Queen’s invests in Israel’s occupation or military because multinational companies operate across many countries, he added. Some companies have direct influences on Israel’s occupation, like military companies. Others, like technology and communications companies, are more removed.
For example, Google and Intel play important roles in Israel’s economy, Haklai explained.
“Almost every one of us [in Canada also] uses high tech products,” Haklai said. “We couldn’t manage without them; it would be very naive to think we could suddenly, all of us, not use Intel products or Google products.”
Queen’s doesn’t have a methodology for determining if investments are related to wars or conflicts, according to a statement from the University. They outlined how special requests can be made for investment decisions, a process requiring over 200 signatures.
“The University takes Responsible Investing seriously and is committed to transparency in its approach,” the statement from Donna Janiec, vice-principal (finance and istration), said.
SPHR claims the University’s investments in weapons companies contradict their Responsible Investment Policy, which claims to take environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into .
“We put a lot of our energy in making sure our efforts are put towards actual real tangible actions the University can take,” Hussein said.
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Matthew
A really one-sided article, and the author clearly takes a a stance believing Israel does occupy Gaza, rather than acknowledge any facts about Hamas and the anti-semetism taking over at Queen’s, sad to see as an alumni.
Isa
This take is so painful it actually hurts to read. How on Earth is it one-sided to take the stance that Israel has subjected Gaza, and Palestine as a whole, to occupation illegal under international law? When human rights organizations and governments around the world declare that Israel is maintaining an apartheid system, when the ICJ rules that Israel is plausibly committing the crime of genocide in Gaza, these are not just “opinions.” There’s a point at which you need to get in touch with base reality.
Matthew
Israel has not subjected Gaza to anything. Hamas, Iran, and international ignorance & general hostility & resentment of the Jewish people created a situation in which people believe Jews are caucasian oppressors that have all the power and money in the world to take away the land and wealth of the innocent Palestinians (typical anti-semetic tropes). If Israel put down its arms, it would be annihilated; if Hamas put down its arms, there would be peace. Israel has good reason to be fearful for its existence; Iran and its proxies, like Hamas and Hezbollah, chant for the death of Israel and for the Jewish people. They teach their children in schools to murder Israeli citizens. They encourage murder through monetary rewards. The fact that you do not consider this at all tells me you are one-sided.
Believe me, I understand the current Israeli government is extremely racist, and probably some of them (especially Smotrich and Ben-Gvir) want to kill Palestinians and don’t care about their truths and claims to the land. Currently, Israel is doing horrible things in the West Bank that I do not agree with – destroying homes because they don’t have proper permits is how Smotrich is trying to remove all non-Israel’s from the West Bank, which is messed up! Both people have a claim to the land, so don’t say either side does not since that is ignorant of either side’s history. A 2-state solution where all arms are laid down and a responsible government that DOES NOT HATE JEWS is required for peace, and we are currently in an unfortunate extreme political situation, in which both sides suck.
It’s a shame that you cannot see past the lies you are being fed about genocide. Base reality is not a place you currently reside. Did you know Israel does BY FAR more than any other country in the world to avoid harming civilians? Did you know that no one in the world cares that Hamas uses human shields, and would just rather blame Israel for missing their target? Countless news articles have come out mentioning this, but what sticks with the world is the buzzwords like genocide and apartheid. I encourage you to watch the below video for another view on the middle east conflict. Divestment is not the answer, boycotting the Jewish homeland is not the answer, and until the pro-Palestinian side gets more logical in their demands and more understanding of the “other” side of this issue, the better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDW88CBo-8&ab_channel=PragerU