Students for Justice in Palestine officially announced a divestment campaign Thursday during a “walkout” at the University of Arizona, urging the UA’s administrators to cut all ties with companies involved in Israel’s “war economy.”
The group’s speakers did so without acknowledging or commenting on the fact that divestment would be illegal.
Arizona is one of 38 U.S. states with specific laws making it illegal for state agencies to divest from Israel, as reported previously by the Arizona Daily Star. The Arizona law prohibiting state and local governments from divesting was initially signed in 2016, with an update in 2022 that specifically barred the state’s public universities and community colleges from divesting.
The law itself is unjust, said Max Thomas, a graduate student at the UA who is not part of SJP but said he feels strongly about pro-Palestinian issues. “Sure, it’s illegal to ‘divest from Israel.’ It’s not illegal to divest from companies engaged in war crimes that just so happen to be operating with the Israeli government,” he told the Star.
“The law is a joke and would be shot down in any court and the state knows it. UA should divest regardless, and either challenge the law or divest explicitly for humanitarian purposes and not against any specific government,” Thomas said.
University of Arizona students walk by Old Main during a “walkout” Thursday organized by Students for Justice in Palestine.
Arizona’s state treasurer, Kimberley Lee, told the Star earlier this year that such laws “are intended to support our friends (in) Israel as well as to continue to partner with them in a way that would protect their economic viability and stability, as well as really acknowledge their sovereignty.”
About 100 protesters and community members gathered to hear speeches near the administration building starting at around noon Thursday and walked around UA’s Old Main, in the first major rally put on by SJP on campus this year. SJP says it is a “non-denominational organization advocating for the Palestinian people at the University of Arizona,” according to its Instagram page.
The crowd was filled with individuals covered in keffiyeh scarfs — which stand for Palestinian solidarity, liberation and freedom — waving Palestine flags, holding up signs with slogans written in bold black letters and cheering on the speakers.
Among the slogans chanted loudly by the crowd, as onlookers from the UA community walked by, were: “Free, Free Palestine; Free, Free, Free Palestine,” “Remember South Africa, Remember Vietnam; UArizona, We Know What Side You’re On,” “No Justice, No Peace.”
Some onlookers silently watched on, some joined in on the chants, and some shouted pro-Israel chants at the marchers.
UA spokesperson Mitch Zak said later about the rally, “The university is committed to fostering a university environment where people can freely express their views on a wide range of issues, with respect for diverse perspectives and a commitment to civil discourse.”
Two pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protest encampments on the UA campus this spring, organized by a group called Students Against Apartheid, were eventually cleared by police using tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets, actions UA’s administration said were taken to safeguard safety for others. The encampments violated curfew rules.
