February 21, 2014 Dear students at UCLA: Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) supports Students for Justice

in Palestine at UCLA in their campaign for divestment of university funds from human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. Since 2005, Palestinians, Israeli allies and hundreds of thousands of supporters worldwide have been mobilized in response to the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns. Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA has joined this call by asking its university to call upon the UC Regents to divest holdings in American companies which profit from the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Jewish Voice for Peace supports students rights to democratically call for their tuition funds to be divested from companies which profit from human rights abuses, and in fact to call for a broader program of ethical investments to be implemented at their universities. Calling for companies to cease engagement in the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip blockade is a matter of following international law and upholding principles of human rights agreed to by the entire community of nations. Rather than dividing a campus, it unites us all people of conscience in a campaign for equality, for social justice, and for accountability. The Jewish communities do not speak with one voice, however. As Rabbi Brant Rosen, a UCLA alum and co-chair of our Rabbinical Council, recently said in his video endorsing divestment, The Jewish community is a vast and diverse place. Leaders of Jewish institutions against divestment do not represent the whole of the Jewish community. Advocating for justice in a non-violent manner is not anti-Semitic. Jewish Voice for Peace and a growing number of Jews strongly believe that divestment from occupation demonstrates Jewish values of justice and healing the world. Profiting from the demolition of Palestinian homes and the uprooting of Palestinian trees (CAT) is not a Jewish value. Profiting from the building of a separation wall declared illegal by the International Court of Justice (Cemex and CRH) does not comport with Jewish ideals of respect for the rule of law. Profiting from military attacks on a captive civilian population (GE) runs contrary to our respect for the sanctity of life. Profiting from biometric identification used to segregate and impede movement (HP) represents discrimination and injustice. We salute the diverse and principled coalition of students at the University of California, Los Angeles, who have united in support of this resolution. We wish you the best of luck and consider this another step towards a more just and equitable future. Jewish Voice for Peace is the largest organization of Jews and allies in the US advocating for an end to the Israeli occupation and working for peace with justice in the Middle East. Our active Advisory Board includes academics like Noam Chomsky, Judith Butler and Daniel Boyarin. Sydney Levy Advocacy Director, Jewish Voice for Peace