SJP Holds Walkout and Sit-in for Palestine; Demands Reed Divest from Israel
Photo by Finn Girvan
Reedies, assembled by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), walked out of work and classes on Thursday, February 8, at 4:00 pm, before marching to Eliot Hall for a roughly half-hour sit-in outside of President Audrey Bilger’s office. The protest came less than two weeks after Reed SJP’s previous action, a similar walkout on Friday, January 26, and was held to correspond with a National SJP day of action, in which several hundred campus chapters of the pro-Palestinian student organization were invited to participate. As issued in December 2023 alongside Reed Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Reed Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), Reed SJP’s demands include divestment from corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine, greater transparency on Reed’s opaque investment practices, the formation of a committee to investigate antisemitic vandalism on campus, the severing of ties with Ben-Gurion University and Hebrew University in Israel, the issuing of an apology for Bilger’s negative portrayal of student protestors in an email sent to the community on November 13, and the issuing of a public statement “condemning the ongoing genocide in Gaza.” Of these, the February 8 action focused primarily on divestment and financial transparency. According to Reed SJP representative Indigo (who, like all SJP organizers quoted here, is identified by first name only), since the January 26 walkout, “the administration has officially agreed to meet with representatives of Reed SJP to discuss our demands,” but “they remain opposed to our demands, except the formation of a committee to investigate anti-Semitic graffiti on campus.”
After walking out, Reedies converged on Eliot Circle. SJP organizer Sophia opened by thanking attendees for their presence and noted that “we are a small campus, but that means as individuals we have a lot of power.” Laying out the goals of the action, they reiterated that SJP “ask[s] the college to begin divesting from corporations supplying for and profiting off the Israeli government’s ongoing illegal occupation, ethnic cleansing, and genocide in Palestine. Specifically, we call for a public phasing out of current investments and a halt to new investments in corporations that supply arms to or otherwise support the occupation.” A list of such corporations is available in SJP’s published list of demands, linked in the online version of this article, and primarily includes American and Israeli military contractors like Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon.
In order to facilitate divestment, Sophia said that SJP “demands Reed be transparent about where the endowment is invested,” information that is not publicly available. Invoking Reed’s legacy of student organizing, they added “We remind you that the Honor Principle states that ‘members of the community will be honest in all their behavior, will take responsibility for the effect of their behavior on the college as a whole, and will engage in conscientious self-reflection about their words and deeds.‘” Sophia suggested that the Reed administration “act in accordance with its stated values” by offering greater transparency to the community and divesting from Israel.
In response to a request for comment on Reed SJP’s divestment campaign, Sheena McFarland, spokesperson for Reed College, said:
“Reed’s endowment plays a vital role in supporting the college’s operations, particularly student financial aid. Without the endowment and our ability to continue to grow it, Reed’s programs would be less accessible, particularly to students with financial need. As shared with the Quest last semester by Reed’s Chief Investment Officer Erik Bernhardt, Reed College does not have the ability to dictate or control underlying investment choices of the external managers who invest assets on behalf of the endowment. To answer a question addressing one area of concern, Reed does not directly invest in any individual companies via stocks or bonds. Additionally, Reed College must follow its Investment Responsibility Policy, which does not allow the selection of investments based on political stances.”
The Investment Responsibility Policy, which was prepared and adopted by the Investment Committee and Board of Trustees on December 6, 1977, and, approved by the Board of Trustees on January 13, 1978, states that “Throughout its history, the College has been extraordinarily concerned with the defense of academic freedom and as an important adjunct to that defense has sought to limit the political role of the institution or the enlistment of the institution's name in political causes by any of its constituents.” It then goes on to outline investment objectives, recognition of college investment responsibility, and the administration of investment responsibility policy. SJP comments on this in their demands, noting “The reality remains that investment provides real financial support for the actions and practices of companies. The investor is ethically implicated, regardless of their claims to the contrary.”
SJP organizer Bridger spoke next at the rally, saying, “The world only speaks one language…capital.” They went on to explain what divestment is, and why so many institutions participate in investment such as Reed does, explaining, “Why invest? It keeps capitalism running.” Answers as to why and how Reed, as an institution invests, can be found in Reed Magazine's March 25, 2022 article entitled, Understanding Investment, but according to the Reed College Library website, “Divestment refers to the selective selling-off of business interests and investments, in compliance with set ethical demands.” SJP’s call for divestment follows the Palestinian civil society movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), which launched in 2005 and is spearheaded by the BDS National Committee.
As noted by SJP organizer Schwa in another speech, this is not the first time students at Reed have called for divestment. In February of 1985, a movement calling on the Reed administration to divest from Apartheid South Africa took place, ending in an agreement with then-President Paul Bragdon and Vice President Susan Crimm to establish a joint student-trustee committee to deliberate on divestment and other issues of importance to the student body. While it is clear that this student-trustee committee is no longer in place, more recently, in October of 2021, Reed announced their plan for fossil fuel divestment after students, alumni, faculty, and staff urged them to.
Following the Eliot Circle rally, walkout participants circled the eastern half of campus in a march before returning to Eliot Hall for a sit-in outside of President Bilger’s office. During the walkout and subsequent march, Reedies chanted, among other things, “Israel bombs, USA pays, how many kids did you kill today,” putting pressure on Reed administration for their potential role in the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza and situating it in the broader context of the American military, financial, and diplomatic support for Israel. Bilger was absent from the office, and no other senior administration officials were anywhere to be seen, so SJP resolved to stay until a planned announcement at 5:00pm. After a series of chants, students dispersed across the third floor of Eliot Hall and settled down to do homework while holding the space. Organizers announced at 5:00pm that they were passing out a QR code to a GoFundMe raising money for four Reed students arrested at a previous protest in November 2023 to pay court-ordered restitution and avoid jail time.
The sit-in also served to enhance Reed SJP’s position ahead of their planned February 27 meeting with Reed administration officials to discuss their demands. According to Bridger, speaking to the Quest, “We’re really trying to achieve legitimacy, and we want to make sure that face-to-face we can have a conversation… now we can sit down and get some real definitive stuff.” They stated that “the main thing is to state our demands directly so we can’t be ignored anymore… it’s hard to ignore it when it’s being said right to you.“
Walkout participants interviewed by the Quest agreed with the need to continue expressing solidarity with Palestine. Student Body President Andee Gude ‘26, one of the first Reedies to arrive at the rally, said “I think it’s important to show up. I want to build community and show up when I can.” They added, “Sometimes it’s being able to come to a walkout, sometimes it’s not, but today I can and I will.”
Outside the Office of the President; From left to right, ‘Divest from Israel NOW!,’ ‘PLEASE TELL REED STUDENTS REEDS INVESTMENTS! What do you have to hide?’ and, ‘REED STUDENTS WANT TO KNOW? IS OUR TUITION FUNDING GENOCIDE?’
Photo by Finn Girvan
The protest took place on the 124th day of the ongoing Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip, which Reuters, citing the Gaza Health Ministry, reports has killed at least 28,064 people and wounded 67,611 others. At least 11,500 of the dead were children. Additionally, according to the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, since October 7, 2023, Israel has internally displaced 85% of Gazans - 1.9 million people - in its bombardment and ground assault. UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons Paula Gaviria Betancur stated in December 2023, “As evacuation orders and military operations continue to expand and civilians are subjected to relentless attacks on a daily basis, the only logical conclusion is that Israel’s military operation in Gaza aims to deport the majority of the civilian population en masse.” Gaza’s healthcare system has long since collapsed, with disease and hunger spreading rampantly among displaced persons in the face of aid restrictions and destroyed infrastructure.
South Africa has brought a case charging Israel with genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. South Africa and Israel are both parties to the Genocide Convention, although the ICJ case is not legally connected to the case brought by CCR in the Northern District of California despite dealing with the same article of international law. On January 26, the ICJ issued an interim ruling calling on Israel to take steps to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but stopped short of mandating a ceasefire as South Africa and Palestinian advocates had sought. While the ICJ does not have an enforcement mechanism, UN Security Council member states can use failure to comply with ICJ rulings as a basis for punitive measures including sanctions and arms embargoes. A similar case filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in US federal court accusing President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of aiding and abetting the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, which was the focus of Reed SJP’s previous action, was recently dismissed for falling outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Reed SJP is planning its next rally for Tuesday, February 20, at 8:30 am. As usual, it will take place in Eliot Circle.