Graduate Student Employees Union Resolution in Support for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
We affirm our belief that it is the duty for labor to stand for justice and freedom of all working people across the world. We also uphold labor internationalism, which informs us that labor everywhere should fight on the basis of common interests and needs of all workers internationally, extend solidarity across borders, and oppose policies, ideologies, actions and stances that put the interests of a group of workers above the goals of working-class liberation, or harms working people’s struggles with labor’s tacit or explicit, financial or ideological, consent or support. We thus also proclaim that labor should categorically oppose imperialist war, ethnic-cleansing, and apartheid policies as a matter of principle, and even more strongly if these policies and acts are done in its name and enabled or furthered in any manner through its resources and participation.
Therefore we propose this resolution:
- Whereas, by the time of this report, Israel’s attacks against Palestinians have caused at least 72,072 deaths and 171,741 injuries, with the official estimate considered by experts to be a severe undercount. Over half of those killed were women, children under 18, or the elderly (those over 65).
- Whereas, according to the UN, in Gaza, 1.9 million people have been displaced, representing 90% of the population, and 92% of all residential buildings damaged or destroyed.
- Whereas, the report by United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry, published on September 16, 2025, noted that it “concludes on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit the following actus reus of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, namely (i) killing members of the group; (ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (iii) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (iv) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
- Whereas, the same report calls all member states to use all means to stop the genocide and “[e]nsure individuals and corporations in their territories and within their jurisdictions are not involved in the commission of genocide, aiding and assisting the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide and investigate and prosecute those who may be implicated in these crimes under international law.”
- Whereas, this report joins reports by other various organizations and experts recognizing Israel’s genocide against Palestinian people, including Amnesty International, Genocide Watch, Human Rights Watch, International Association of Genocide Scholars, B’Tselem, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and Center for Constitutional Rights.
- Whereas, Israel was found to be an apartheid regime by international and Israeli human rights institutions, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem, a regime wherein Palestinians live as second-class citizens both in practice and in law.
- Whereas the US is by far the largest supplier of weapons and financial aid to Israel, with the financial aid almost entirely supporting Israel’s military.
- Whereas US labor has historically been extremely supportive of the Israeli state, reportedly US labor institutions representing the largest institutional holders of Israeli bonds.
- Whereas, therefore, without full transparency it is reasonable to expect that GSEU members’ union dues might be invested in Israeli bonds, through also either our parent union Communication Workers of America (CWA) or our federation American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
- Whereas, in July 2024, major US labor unions, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), International Union of Painters (IUPAT), National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW), and United Electrical Workers (UE) called for a US arms embargo against Israel.
- Whereas, SUNY also holds various ties to Israel, including homeland and cybersecurity research partnership between SUNY Albany and Ben Gurion University, state retirement plans that have over $250 million invested in Israeli bonds, or partnership between Stony Brook and IBM, which provides technology to Israeli military.
- Whereas, hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of public funds of New York State are invested in Israeli bonds, including NYS Common Retirement Funds which held $352 million in Israeli bonds as of March 2024.
- Whereas, JFK airport is frequently used to export weapons, military equipment, and dangerous explosives to Israel.
- Whereas, Israel has frequently violated the current ceasefire on Gaza, and have killed at least 738 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,000 others since its beginning.
- Whereas, since March 2nd, Israel has launched a renewed invasion of Lebanon, during which it killed more than 2,000 people, and displaced half a million people. This occurred after, according to the UN, Israel violated the ceasefire that began in Lebanon in November 2024 more than 10,000 times.
- Whereas, Israel is also currently conducting an operation against Iran with the US that was condemned by the UN Secretary General as violating international law.
- Whereas, in 2005, more than 170 Palestinian civil society organizations published a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) call against Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and its apartheid regime, with the aim of creating non-violent pressure on Israel to adopt three principal demands:
- 1) Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall
- 2) Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
- 3) Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
- Whereas, the BDS call has been adopted by labor unions both internationally and in the US, with the endorsers in the US including United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (EU) (2015), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) (2010), United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2865 (University of California graduate workers union) (2014), UAW Local 2322 (UMass Amherst) (2016), UAW 2110 (New York University), United Educators of San Francisco (UESF, AFT Local 61) (2021), Seattle Education Association (SEA) (2021), among others.
- Whereas, a SUNY-wide coalition calling for SUNY to act on BDS measures has gathered the support of 35 organizations and 4,181 individual signers across the SUNY system.
- Whereas, in May 2024, GSEU sent a poll to signed members concerning membership support for divestment from Israel. The participants of the poll voted 87% in favor, but not adopted due to lack of sufficient participation.
Let it be resolved that, GSEU
- Declares its commitment and support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
- Calls on SUNY administration and individual SUNY campuses to enact BDS measures, including complying with the requirements of academic boycott against Israel.
- Calls on SUNY administration and individual SUNY campuses to protect by all available means the right of individuals and organizations to support and endorse BDS and other forms of non-violent movements that advocate for Palestinian people’s rights. It also calls SUNY administration and individual SUNY campuses to protect students and workers against retaliation, harassment, doxxing etc. that arise as a result of advocating for these rights.
- Declares its commitment to opposing our institutions’ involvement and complicity in US and Israeli war and genocide at SUNY and NYS level, including through support for BDS initiatives on campuses, Break the Bonds Campaign, arms embargoes, etc.
- Declares that it will abide by BDS requirements in its financial decisions.
- Calls on CWA Local 1104 and CWA to make their investment portfolio transparent and divest from all Israeli bonds, and other companies that violate BDS guidelines.
