Click on the link below to read the full text of the resolution that has been presented by the Palestine Solidarity Caucus and placed on the agenda by the Steering Committee. A referendum vote on this resolution will be held during the upcoming elections.
Resolution: Standing in Solidarity with Palestinian civil society and joining the Boycott, Divestment and Santions (BDS) Movement.
Should GEO/UAW2322 and its members join the global movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, until such time as Israel has complied with international law and respected the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and all Palestinian refugees and exiles?
BDS should be maintained until Israel fully complies with the precepts of international law by:
1. Ending its occupation of the Palestinian territories and dismantling the Wall;
2. Ending its preferential treatment of Jews visavis Palestinians in the land under its control;
3. Promoting and protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
This renews and furthers the commitment of GEO, whose membership overwhelmingly voted, in 2003, for divestment from the Israeli occupation.
GEO/UAW2322 should join the movement in the following ways:
Renewing and furthering the commitment displayed by GEO members in 2003
1) GEO/UAW2322 should call on the University of Massachusetts (UMass) and the UAW International to divest their investments, including pension funds, from Israeli state institutions and international companies complicit in severe and ongoing human rights violations as part of the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people. GEO/UAW2322 should also call on UMass and the UAW International to decline to conduct business with said companies.
2) GEO/UAW2322 should join other labor, academic and cultural organizations in calling on the government of the United States of America to end military aid to Israel.
3) GEO/UAW2322 should call on affiliated bodies such as UAW Local 2322, the Coalition of Graduate Employee Organizations, The UAW international, Jobs with Justice, Massachusetts AFLCIO to join the BDS movement.
____Yes ____No
In carrying out the activities set forth above and in acting on this proposal, we affirm that this proposal should not be interpreted or applied to seek to influence the hiring or other employment decisions of the University or individual academics or GEO/UAW2322 members; nor will it in any way limit or affect the representative functions of the Union including but not limited to which grievances or contract demands we pursue. Furthermore, this resolution does not seek to discourage association with individual Israeli scholars. GEO/UAW2322 is strictly committed to opposing all forms of discrimination including discrimination based on race, religion, national origin or ethnicity, and we affirm our strong commitment to the principles of academic freedom for all in the UMass community.
