What's Behind Campus Protesters' Calls For 'Divestment' From Israel?

Student protesters on campuses across the country are calling for their schools to divest from Israel. What does this mean, and what impact would it have on the Israel-Palestine conflict?

What is Divestment? An article in the Washington Post (Lean Left bias) described the divest movement. Student protesters are calling for schools to alter their endowments, the “vast financial holdings that fund anything from financial aid to new buildings,” to not include Israeli stocks or stocks of certain companies, such as Google, that have contracts with the Israeli government. The article highlights the logistical challenges that would come with divestment given the “extremely complex investment arms” that governs colleges’ endowments.

What’s the Impact of Divestment? An analysis in the Wall Street Journal (Center bias) determined the financial impact of widespread divestment from Israel would be minimal, and the only potential win for the protesters would be Israelis being culturally isolated and “fed up with being treated as the bad guys,” leading to potential government change. But in terms of stocks, colleges divesting their endowments would be negligible for three reasons: there are enough “deep-pocketed supporters of Israel” to buy up the colleges’ stocks, it would most likely not compel companies to change course, and it would not stop Israel from waging its war in Gaza. The analysis concluded, “Weapons will continue to flow no matter what private investors do—only Congress or the White House can stop them.”