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How the University of Alberta Supports Genocide

As of 2024, the University of Alberta (U of A) holds over $140M worth of investments that directly or indirectly support the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people. Much of this money is held in companies that help manufacture Israeli tanks, warships, and jets, which are used in the daily massacres of Palestinian men, women, children, and the elderly.

The goal of Israel's daily massacres is to empty Gaza of its indigenous inhabitants to settle and occupy Gaza permanently. This is genocide.

While Israel primarily holds the responsibility for the genocide, it would not be possible without support from its allies, which include the Canadian government, weapons manufacturers, and investors such as the U of A.

Israel's indiscriminate bombardment has displaced over 90% of the Palestinians in Gaza. Now, it continues to drop 2000lb bombs on tents of the displaced, killing an average of 28+ children a day.

Where is the evidence?

After the University destroyed the People's University of Palestine encampment in May 2024, the University caved to public pressure and partially disclosed its investments.

An investigation into these investments was later submitted to the UN, titled, "How the University of Alberta invests in human rights violations in Palestine." This report details the variety of ways that the U of A helps to enable and facilitate genocide, apartheid, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Palestine.

Through University investments in companies which aid and abet genocide, our campus is complicit in the Palestinian people's suffering. However, more universities are closing off the flow of money to the Israeli occupation, showing us that our relationship to Gaza doesn't have to be one of complicity.

Demands

We, the students, alumni, faculty, and greater community, call on the University to:

Immediately adopt and implement a policy of negative screening and transparent investment reporting to prevent investments in companies that enable war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Immediately divest from Rolls Royce, Magellan, and Booking.com, three companies which aid and benefit from genocide, apartheid, and occupation.

Rolls-Royce is a British multinational firm that manufactures airplane engines and submarine power systems. It makes the engines which power the Israeli occupation's main battle tanks, the Merkava 4 and 5, as well as the Namer and the Eitan vehicles. There have been reports by Euro-Med Monitor about Israelis running over Palestinian families in these tanks while they are still alive.

Magellan Aerospace is a Canadian aerospace company that designs and manufactures military equipment. Magellan currently manufactures components of Lockheed-Martin’s F-35 fighter jet in Winnipeg.

F-35s have been used extensively in Israel’s genocidal bombardment of Gaza. The IOF has confirmed F-35s were used on July 13, 2024 to drop three 2000 lb. bombs in an attack on a so-called “safe zone” on Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, killing 90 people and injuring approximately 300 people.

Outside Palestine, Israel has also used F-35s to attack civilians in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.

For years, Booking.com has listed dozens of properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, normalizing the existence of settlements and supporting settlers financially. In one case study explored by a 2018 report by Human Rights Watch, a Palestinian who was barred from accessing their land by the occupation was surprised to learn that settlers had built a house on his land and were renting it out through this kind of booking platform. Since Palestinian ID-holders are not allowed in Israeli settlements except as laborers with special permits, Booking.com does not allow Palestinians to rent or be guests on their own occupied land, whereas Israelis and any foreign tourists can!

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