Petition is addressed to: Warren Wilson Trustees, Provost, Board, and Administration.

No More Tuition Dollars to Fund Genocide!

We demand Warren Wilson College (WWC) divest from companies supporting Israeli apartheid and human rights violations in Palestine. For over 50 years, Palestinians have been occupied by Israel (Amnesty International, 2017; O'Dell, 2024). The current campaign has killed over 30,000 people, 14,000 of them children (AJLabs, 2024; Martínez & Batrawy, 2024; The Associated Press, 2024, Dujarric, 2024). The ongoing illegal occupation, as stated by the European Union and many other states (European Union, 2021; Amnesty International, 2019), and the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel are funded by the United States. (Masters & Merrow, 2024; Schwarz, 2023). There is a pertinent need for institutions like WWC to align their investments with ethical values. Divestment campaigns have successfully happened at WWC such as the student-led fossil fuel divestment in 2015 (Intentional Endowments Network, 2020; Warren Wilson College, 2024). That movement made Warren Wilson a leading college in the initiative to disentangle from fossil fuel corporations through which they have received several sustainability awards.

Citations:
AJLabs. (2024, April 28). Israel-gaza war in maps and charts: Live Tracker. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker

Chapter 3: Israeli settlements and international law. Amnesty International. (2019, January 30). https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/01/chapter-3-israeli-settlements-and-international-law/

Hope O'Dell. (2024, Aril 4). Israel has occupied the Palestinian Territories since 1967; ICJ to consider whether that’s legal. How long has Israel occupied the Palestinian territories? Is it legal? The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. https://globalaffairs.org/bluemarble/israel-has-occupied-palestinian-territories-1967-un-court-considers-whether-thats-legal 

Dujarric, S. (2024, February 2). Statement attributable to the spokesperson for the secretary-general - on Gaza secretary-general. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2024-02-29/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-gaza?_gl=1%2Aoam0jh%2A_ga%2AMjAzODE3MjMwMy4xNzE0NTEzNzcz%2A_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z%2AMTcxNDUxMzc3My4xLjAuMTcxNDUxMzc3My4wLjAuMA..%2A_ga_S5EKZKSB78%2AMTcxNDUxMzc3My4xLjEuMTcxNDUxMzc5Mi40MS4wLjA

Intentional Endowment Network. (2020, October). Active Ownership in the Endowment: Warren Wilson College Case Study. https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/intentionalendowments/pages/5746/attachments/original/1602601306/IEN_WWC_Case_Study.pdf?1602601306

European Union. (2021, March 8). Middle east peace process. EEAS. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/middle-east-peace-process_en

Israel’s occupation: 50 years of dispossession. Amnesty International. (2017, June 7). https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/06/israel-occupation-50-years-of-dispossession/ 

Martínez, A., & Batrawy, A. (2024, February 29). The death toll in Gaza hits a grim new milestone. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234762056/the-death-toll-in-gaza-hits-a-grim-new-milestone#:~:text=The%20death%20toll%20in%20Gaza%20hits%20a%20grim%20new%20milestone%20%3A%20NPR&text=Press-,The%20death%20toll%20in%20Gaza%20hits%20a%20grim%20new%20milestone,of%20them%20women%20and%20children. 

Masters, J., & Merrow, W. (2024, April 11). U.S. aid to Israel in four charts. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts

Schwarz, J. (2023, December 28). I calculated how much of my money the U.S. sent to kill Palestinians. you can too. The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2023/12/28/israel-us-taxes-gaza-war/#:~:text=The%20total%20aid%20the%20U.S.,passed%20soon%20by%20the%20Senate.)

Sustainability - environmental, Economic & Social. Warren Wilson College. (2024, February 16). https://www.warren-wilson.edu/student-life/sustainability/ 

The Associated Press. (2024, April 29). The latest: Israeli airstrikes on rafah kill at least 22 people. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-hamas-latest-04-29-2024-28196afeb6e34c3a287770f71187cc4e#:~:text=Israel’s%20war%20in%20Gaza%20has,of%20them%20children%20and%20women.