Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
UC System Holds $32 Billion in Investments Targeted by Protesters
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 months ago on
May 16, 2024

The University of California faces intense student protests demanding divestment from weapons manufacturers and companies supporting Israel, with the university maintaining $32 billion in targeted investments. (AP/Richard Vogel)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Investments in weapons manufacturers and a wide array of other companies by the University of California targeted by students protesting the Israel-Hamas war represent $32 billion – or nearly one-fifth – of the system’s overall assets, the system’s chief investment officer says.

UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher unveiled the estimate Tuesday at the first public Board of Regents meeting since nationwide pro-Palestinian student protests began in April. The calculation was in response to a letter he received last month from the UC Divest Coalition, which is scrutinizing the system’s overall $175 billion in assets.

The group asked for the system to halt its investments in weapons manufacturers, the investment firms Blackstone and BlackRock, and two dozen companies across the entertainment, technology and beverage industries.

Bachher said that would apply to investments that include: $3.3 billion in holdings from groups with ties to weapons manufacturers; $12 billion in U.S. treasuries; $163 million in the investment firm BlackRock and $2.1 billion in bonds that BlackRock manages; $8.6 billion from Blackstone and $3.2 billion from the other 24 companies.

“We pride ourselves on a culture of transparency,” Bachher said, adding that it is important to listen to and engage with students.

UC System Said They Will Not Divest from Israel

The University of California system said last month it would not boycott or divest from Israel, and the regents have not indicated a change in position during this week’s meetings.

In 1986, the regents voted to divest $3.1 billion from companies doing business with South Africa’s apartheid government after more than a year of student protests. The system also dropped its investments in fossil fuels in 2020.

For weeks, students at campuses across the country have been protesting and setting up encampments at their universities to call on them to be more transparent about their investments and to divest from companies that financially support Israel. The demonstrations have led to disruptions, arrests and debates over free speech rights. Tensions between protesters, law enforcement and administration at the University of California, Los Angeles, have garnered some of the most attention.

Protests Stem From Israel-Hamas War

The protests stem from the current Israel-Hamas conflict which started on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes have devastated the enclave and displaced most of Gaza’s inhabitants.

In a letter provided to The Associated Press by the UC president’s office, the UC Divest Coalition — which is made up of anti-war student advocates across UC campuses — asked the university system to end any investments in “companies that perpetuate war or weapons manufacturing, including companies that give economic support to the state of Israel, and therefore perpetuate the ongoing occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people.”

“Investment in arms production is antithetical to the UC’s expressed values and the moral concerns of the students, workers, and faculty that the Regents represent,” the letter says.

UN Rules Israel Must Prevent Acts of Genocide

The United Nation’s top court in January ruled that Israel must do all it can to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but did not order an end to Israel’s military activities in the territories. The ruling was in response to a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in violation of international law. Israel has denied that it is committing genocide.

The coalition did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent via email and social media on the letter and the $32 billion estimate.

At a meeting that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours Tuesday, some students and faculty called for the system to divest from groups with ties to Israel, some faculty raised concerns about antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus, and regents asked investment committee members what it would mean to divest.

Holly Yu, a student studying ethnic studies at the University of California, Merced, urged officials to recognize that students are “expected to continue our everyday lives” as the death toll rises in Gaza.

“Please listen to the voices of your students and stand in solidarity with us by divesting immediately,” Yu said.

Regents said that the question of what it would mean to divest does not have a straight-forward answer.

“We need to be able to articulate to our students that are demanding divestment as to why it’s not so simple,” Regent Jose M. Hernandez said. “It’s not just a matter of selling a coupon and saying ‘okay, we don’t want this, so we’re going to invest in another company.’”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

DON'T MISS

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

DON'T MISS

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

DON'T MISS

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

DON'T MISS

Assemblymember Arambula Says He’ll Run for Fresno City Council

DON'T MISS

Business, Environmental Interests Oppose South Fresno Industrial Plan. What’s Next?

DON'T MISS

Take a Bow, Bulldog Football Fans. Some Power 4 Schools Would Love to Have You.

DON'T MISS

Community Hospital CEO Craig Castro Will Retire in Early 2025

DON'T MISS

Conor McGregor Must Pay Woman $250K in Sexual Assault Case, Civil Jury Rules

DON'T MISS

Judge Delays Trump Hush Money Sentencing in Order to Decide Where Case Should Go Now

UP NEXT

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

UP NEXT

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

UP NEXT

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

UP NEXT

Assemblymember Arambula Says He’ll Run for Fresno City Council

UP NEXT

Business, Environmental Interests Oppose South Fresno Industrial Plan. What’s Next?

UP NEXT

Take a Bow, Bulldog Football Fans. Some Power 4 Schools Would Love to Have You.

UP NEXT

Community Hospital CEO Craig Castro Will Retire in Early 2025

UP NEXT

Conor McGregor Must Pay Woman $250K in Sexual Assault Case, Civil Jury Rules

UP NEXT

Judge Delays Trump Hush Money Sentencing in Order to Decide Where Case Should Go Now

UP NEXT

Trump Gave Interior Nominee One Directive for a Half-Billion Acres of US Land: ‘Drill’

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

53 minutes ago

Assemblymember Arambula Says He’ll Run for Fresno City Council

1 hour ago

Business, Environmental Interests Oppose South Fresno Industrial Plan. What’s Next?

2 hours ago

Take a Bow, Bulldog Football Fans. Some Power 4 Schools Would Love to Have You.

3 hours ago

Community Hospital CEO Craig Castro Will Retire in Early 2025

4 hours ago

Conor McGregor Must Pay Woman $250K in Sexual Assault Case, Civil Jury Rules

4 hours ago

Judge Delays Trump Hush Money Sentencing in Order to Decide Where Case Should Go Now

4 hours ago

Trump Gave Interior Nominee One Directive for a Half-Billion Acres of US Land: ‘Drill’

4 hours ago

Fresno State Gets $500K Grant for Students Facing Homelessness

4 hours ago

NATO and Ukraine to Hold Emergency Talks After Russia’s Attack With New Hypersonic Missile

4 hours ago

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

A man found dead Thursday afternoon in Fresno’s Roeding Park died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Fresno Police Department said in ...

24 minutes ago

Solomone Toki, 44, of the Bay Area, was found dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. (Fresno PD)
24 minutes ago

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

Fresno County authorities are searching for Ray Weston McCall Jr., 43, wanted on domestic violence charges, and caution the public not to approach him. (Fresno County SO)
44 minutes ago

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

50 minutes ago

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

53 minutes ago

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

1 hour ago

Assemblymember Arambula Says He’ll Run for Fresno City Council

2 hours ago

Business, Environmental Interests Oppose South Fresno Industrial Plan. What’s Next?

3 hours ago

Take a Bow, Bulldog Football Fans. Some Power 4 Schools Would Love to Have You.

4 hours ago

Community Hospital CEO Craig Castro Will Retire in Early 2025

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend