BY GAIL ALFAR
According to the online “Globes: Israel’s Business Arena” no reason was given by the Harvard University Management Company as to why all the Israel share holdings that the University had were sold.
This is notable that one of the world’s best known and consistently highest ranked leading academic institution has chosen to eliminate every one of its Israeli based investments.
The article states that shares in “Teva Pharmaceutical” were sold, that were valued at 30.5 million dollars. Teva has been a target of the BDS movement for years, it manufactures many generic drugs such as generic Prilosec (Omeprazole) and generic Allegra (Fexofenadine HCI), to name just a few.
Shares valued at almost 1.7 million were sold in “NICE Systems Ltd.” NICE is a large Israeli firm engaged in wiretapping and surveillance systems for private and government clients, with several contracts in South Africa through Transnet. Orsus was contracted by Transnet to connect three nerve centers in Johannesburg, Richard’s Bay and Cape Town. Their surveillance technology is an example of the type of high-tech ‘security systems’ that are regularly deployed against, and often tested on, Palestinians under occupation.
Harvard University Management Company also sold its shares in Israeli Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., valued at 3.6 million. Check Point’s software is reportedly developed on the basis of knowledge and experience directly acquired from military applications, the company “was founded by veterans of IDF communication, intelligence and computer units.”
Two other companies also lost Harvard’s endorsement: Cellcom Israel Ltd. and Partner Communications Ltd. Harvard University can no longer be accused of funding settlement activity through investments in Cellcom Israel Ltd. TIAA-CREF, the US pension fund giant, divested from Cellcom about one year ago, selling all of its shares for about $257,000. Harvard’s sale of Cellcom was valued at about $1,000,000, a significantly larger amount.
Partner Communications, whose motto is “I am free, I am orange,” took a blow for $1.8 million. Partner Communications claims it supports human rights through employing people from “all the nationalities and congregations of the Israeli society” in its mission statement. A complete neglect of the rights of Palestinian people, who are indigenous to the land, is poignantly obvious.
Is it possible that Harvard University has clauses that bind the university to standards of human rights, international law and democracy? Israel is in clear violation of these three conditions and global parties to investments, agreements and projects with Israel have to be challenged as their relations with Israel are clearly infringing upon their own rules and principles. Could Harvard University have, unofficially, just divested from Israel?
It should be impressed on the signatories of agreements (such as investing) with Israel that all those agreements inherently support the occupation, apartheid and human rights abuses in Palestine.
