The University of Minnesota this week paid about $5 million tied to Israeli-based companies and U.S.-based defense contractors to implement part of an agreement it struck to eliminate pro-Palestinian camps on campus. announced its investment.
The investment is less than a quarter of 1 percent of the $2.27 billion U.S. endowment, but it comes with some caveats. Investments are in the form of stocks and bonds, which the US said are held indirectly through a wide range of funds. Additionally, disclosures focused only on listed companies. “Other investments are protected by non-disclosure agreements and other legal restrictions,” U.S. leaders said.
The disclosure comes as interim President Jeff Oettinger reached an agreement with protesters who had called on the United States to divest from companies with ties to Israel, share information about its investments and meet other demands. It was done a day later. University officials had no further comment on the disclosure other than to confirm they had made good on their commitments and were open to further discussions. The agreement gives them until mid-May to provide additional information.
Protest leaders could not immediately be reached Tuesday. They are scheduled to make a presentation to the university’s board of trustees on Friday. They sent a message to the regents on social media, calling on people to come to the meeting to “demand a divestment from Israel.”
The university appears to be one of the first in the country to announce an investment in response to protests against the war between Hamas and Israel. University leaders realize they are under intense scrutiny. Presidents of some universities, including Columbia University, have been asked to explain why they allowed police to arrest hundreds of people at protests. Leaders of some of the schools that signed agreements, including Northwestern University and Rutgers University, were called to testify before Congress to explain why they made the concessions.
Protests at the University of Minnesota have occurred throughout the semester, but accelerated two weeks ago when people set up tents on campus and university police arrested nine of them for trespassing. The second camp took place for four days last week and ended after organizers and university leaders negotiated an agreement with promises to ensure final exams and graduation would take place without interruption.
Some universities that have reached similar agreements are still working to calculate the value of their investments with Israel or defense contractors. An agreement reached at Washington’s Evergreen State College calls for the creation of a new task force to determine investment levels for the school and “develop a strategy to ensure that investments and divestitures are socially responsible.” said school spokeswoman Kelly von Holtz. Email.
This mirrors processes that other schools already have in place. In April, Macalester College President Suzanne Rivera announced the creation of a social responsibility committee “to consider questions raised by some students regarding the college’s investments and relationships with Israeli universities.” said school spokesperson Joe Linstroth. The committee includes students, employees and alumni and is expected to produce a report this summer.
The University of Minnesota has not said whether it will sell any companies with ties to Israel. The agreement guarantees protest leaders an opportunity to present their case to the board and requires the U.S. to make “good faith efforts” to provide information on its holdings in public companies by May 7. ”, but the following points needed attention. Additional supporting materials may be provided by May 17th.
Leaders of some Jewish organizations, including Hillel and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, are resisting calls to divest from companies with ties to Israel, saying boycotts are discriminatory. He called on U.S. leaders to do so.
