(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
by L.A. Williams
CHAPEL HILL, NC – A group formed this summer at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill is calling on the school to divest itself of any holdings in businesses that have ties in Israel or that may benefit the Middle Eastern nation.
As of October 7, about four dozen people had signed an NC Divest petition denouncing “human rights abuses against Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli government, the continual 35-year-old military occupation and colonization of Palestinian territory by Israeli armed forces and settlers, and the forcible eviction from and demolition of Palestinian homes, towns, and cities” and comparing Israel’s policy toward Palestinians to an “apartheid regime.”
In its petition, the group named specific companies it says sell weapons or military technology (Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies, Textron, Raytheon, and Caterpillar) and also called for a break from relations with Coca-Cola and Intel, which it alleges have either built or plan to build plants on what was once Palestinian land. The group went further to indict any businesses that profit from a relationship with Israel.
Rusty Leonard, chief executive officer with Stewardship Partners Investment Counsel, LLC, in Matthews, North Carolina, believes the Divest NC group is being led astray in its assessment of the Middle East conflict.
“I believe a more sensible and balanced analysis of the facts would lead them to conclude that Israel, while not perfect, certainly has greater moral authority on this issue,” Leonard says. “Israel is a peace-loving democracy with functioning executive, legislative and judicial branches, has always acted in self-defense, and has always attempted to attack military targets.”
Leonard explains further that Israel's recent attempts to placate the Palestinians have been rebuffed. “It offered to give the Palestinians almost all of what they purportedly wanted in terms of the 'occupied territories' and were unreasonably rebuked,” he says.
“The fact is that the dictatorial Palestinian leadership is bent on the destruction of Israel and regularly incites hatred of Israel among its people who it simultaneously impoverishes with its failed terrorist policies and rampant corruption.”
Though he said he had a great deal of sympathy for “the travails of Palestinian people,” he believes the proper response to their predicament would be “to rise up in revolt against their decrepit leadership and embrace peaceful policies towards Israel.” He adds that the Palestinians should learn from God’s Word that “they who bless Israel will they themselves be blessed.”
While the NC Divest petition said the group finds recent attacks on Israeli civilians “unacceptable and abhorrent,” these attacks “should not and do not negate the human rights of the Palestinians.”
Mike McFarland, director of university communications for UNC-Chapel Hill, said Monday that Chancellor James Moeser had been informed of the NC Divest petition, but had not had a chance to discuss the matter with his vice chancellors, though he likely would do so in the near future.
McFarland said the administration had just become aware of the group’s activities in the last couple of weeks.
NC Divest has not produced evidence that the university has investments in companies with ties to Israel. According to the group’s website, although UNC-Chapel Hill is a public university, its investment fund is a private organization, whose holdings are not a matter of public record.
