Does Divesting Work? Discussing Pro-Palestinian Campus Protests

Campuses across the country have seen growing protests against Israeli actions in Palestine. Students are asking for universities to divest from interests linked to Israel. But DOES DIVESTING WORK? This episode will explore the ACTUAL impacts of divestment and how it matters to Palestinian civilians. 

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Transcript

Do these divestments work? There is a substantial amount of evidence that shows that these divestments don't actually have a very strong impact on a country's foreign policy. But for the people who are against these protests and think this is it, you are missing the point. Hi everyone, we are back with season three. I'm really excited to be back. Thank you for the two people that are probably coming back to see me. I'm glad to have you back. Today we're going to talk about the campus protests that are happening in response to the Israel actions in Palestine and whether or not divestment works. So first things first, these protesters are asking their colleges to divest from companies that work with Israel. That in turn is supposed to put pressure on these companies to change their policy towards Israel, and then in turn for that to put pressure on Israel to change their foreign policy towards Palestine. So the question is, do these divestments work? And there is a substantial amount of evidence that shows that these divestments don't actually have a very strong impact on a country's foreign policy. But for the people who are against these protests and think this is it, you are missing the point. These protests aren't meant to just have a direct impact on Israel, they are actually meant to also have an indirect impact on the US government, putting pressure to call for a ceasefire. So let's talk about how. First things first, protesters want to ruin the reputation of Israeli foreign policy. So let's backtrack a little bit. There's actually a movement called the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement. It's been around for many years and has been pretty successful. Though they have found there hasn't been much of a direct impact on fossil fuel companies, they have had an indirect impact of ruining the reputation of fossil fuel companies. So in the same way, we can see that protesters are trying to stigmatize Israeli attacks of Palestinian civilians. They're trying to change public opinion. Second, these students are trying to leverage their position at these big schools to make their voices heard. These students are well aware of the power of these institutions. Places like Columbia, protesters know that the position they're in as students gives them a chance to amplify their message. Third, these protests are a warning to a Biden campaign that young people are willing to sit out of the fall elections. if Biden doesn't change his foreign policy. This should be really worrisome for them considering they have swing states like Georgia where young voters are very important. The strength of these protests are showing the Biden campaign that young voters are not willing to fall in line and just vote for Biden because he's the best alternative. So if I were them I would probably take the hint. So that is it for today. I do support the protesters who are peacefully making their voices heard. Your work does matter. It does make a difference. More importantly, we have to consider the Palestinian civilians that are still being attacked by Israel and are now facing a famine. They are at the heart of these protests and cannot be forgotten. Thank you so much for being here today. Please subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, whatever, wherever you listen to me on. Yeah, that's it.