UNT Divest
UNT Administration
We call on the University of North Texas to take a stand for justice, human rights, and academic integrity by divesting from companies and institutions that enable Israel’s apartheid and occupation of Palestine.
This petition, supported by allied organizations, ASA, MSA, and YDSA, outlines specific demands for divestment and severance of ties with Israeli institutions and weapons manufacturers.
We urge the UNT administration to listen to the voices of its students and uphold the values it claims to represent. We refuse to have our education tied to war and oppression. UNT must pick a side, divestment or genocide.
Petition by
To:
UNT Administration
From:
[Your Name]
To the administration of the University of North Texas:
The students of the University of North Texas, as scholars and builders of the future, call upon the University to make an ethical shift in the policies of the University in order to comply with the moral obligations of humanity, academia, and the global community. The UNT chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and the undersigned students call upon the University to withdraw and divest from the various avenues that materially support Israel’s apartheid and its ethnic cleansing in Palestine.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, the International Court of Justice, and many esteemed international human rights organizations, Israel’s violence against Palestinians amounts to ethnic cleansing and war crimes. As of June 20, 2024, UN experts announced that states and companies that contribute to the arming of Israel hold the “responsibility for human rights violations” and must cease such actions.
The University of North Texas profits off of Israel’s war economy through multiple avenues. As an institution dedicated to education, advancement of society, and preservation of the environment, such involvement and enabling of Israel’s violence directly contradicts the values of the University and the will of the students who attend the institution.
On these grounds, the undersigned students and organizations demand that the University:
Pledge not to invest in companies complicit in destructive, high emission weapons including those profiting from military occupation and violence.
Sever ties with Fulbright Israel and all fellowships and research projects in collaboration with Israeli institutions.
Sever all connections between the Department of Engineering and companies/weapons manufacturers that profit off of the occupation.
As students, we recognize the value and privilege it is to receive an education at an institution like UNT. It is our very education and humanity that urges the University to protect the lives of Palestinians when considering financial assets and relations. We refuse to have blood on our hands. We demand divestment.
Allied orgs: ASA, MSA, YDSA