Columbia University student workers’ union withdraws Israel divestment demand

The Columbia University student workers' union withdrew its demand that the university divest financially from Israel at a bargaining meeting this week.

The union constitutes over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate student workers. At a general body meeting on Monday, the union’s members voted on the decision. 

SWC-UAW pulled a contract article entitled “Obligations Under International Law,” which pressed the university to divest from companies and state actors in violation of international law, as defined by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. 

It also demanded that the university publicise its finances twice a fiscal year, including all direct and indirect investments and holdings, and permit the union to submit a “list of entities from which the University shall divest”, detailing how the entities violated international law. 

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