Palestine Protest: Students, Corporates & Where it’s Going
A Pro-Palestine protest has hit university campuses across the U.S., including Columbia, NYU, Harvard Law, Yale, Emory, Georgia Tech, University of Texas, Washington, and Michigan among others. This comes after similar student protests called for the Canadian Big 5 Banks to divest from Elbit Systems last month.
Activist campaigning has skyrocketed following the events of last October led by human rights groups and sustained by relatively new direct-action groups like Palestine Action.
Our data shows that primary targets have been arms companies and financial institutions with Elbit Systems, a military tech firm and its business partners, receiving a majority of targeting by NGOs. A strong boycott-divestment-sanctions (BDS) is also in motion. We have observed how pro-Palestine activism is bringing into its fold different focus groups like environmentalists, social justice campaigners and corporate watchdogs.
Most Criticised Organisations on Israel/Palestine
Criticism of companies on the Israel/Palestine conflict has mostly targeted arms companies selling to the Israeli military, and financial institutions linked to these companies. Elbit Systems, a military tech firm and even its business partners, has received the majority of targeting for alleged complicity.
Most Praised Organisations on Israel/Palestine
Much of the praise for companies on the Palestine issue focused on divestment from enterprises complicit in Israeli ‘war crimes’. Announcements of plans to end relationships with Elbit Systems, Barclays, and the Israeli football team were welcomed by groups as incremental progress.
Campaigning on Palestine & Arms Exports
There has been a concomitant rise in campaigning against arms exports and calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, with activists arguing that sustained sales of arms and weapons to Israel is fueling the humanitarian disaster in the region.
Groups have pointed to Israel’s possible violation of international law to call for a ceasefire, an end to military funding and in some cases, a ‘two way arms embargo’ on Israel. Certain groups have made connections between the arms trade and ‘ oppression, exacerbated global insecurity, and worsened climate change’.