Department of English 1202 HMNSS -040

College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences Riverside, CA 92521

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April 14, 2014

To whom it may concern:

We, the undersigned faculty from universities around the country, salute and commend the efforts of Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights at the University of Washington, Seattle, to get the UW Student Senate to pass a measured and thoughtful motion to divest from corporations that profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

We agree with the motion in its recognition that the Israeli occupation is both illegal under international law and involves extensive and ongoing violations of human rights and international law that are systemic in nature and thoroughly documented by a range of internationally respected organizations. Corporations that collaborate with and profit from the occupation are themselves therefore complicit in the perpetration of human rights violations. Furthermore, we endorse the statement that a decision to divest from corporations that profit from these fundamental violations is and should be in keeping with the commitment to respect for human rights, non-discrimination and ethical values that is a cornerstone of any university’s moral and intellectual mission. It is clearly in keeping with the University of Washington’s own stated commitment to “the active pursuit of global engagement and connectedness” and to fostering “engaged and responsible citizenship”.

We therefore urge the Student Senate at the University of Washington, Seattle, to live up to these ethical principles and to pass the divestment resolution.

Sincerely,

Joel Beinin, Stanford University

Eduardo Cadava, Princeton University

Mary Yu Danico, California State University, Pomona

Colin Dayan, Vanderbilt University

Erica Edwards, University of California Riverside

Alessandro Fornazzari, University of California, Riverside

Cynthia Franklin, University of Hawai’i

Jess Ghannam, University of California, San Francisco

Terri Ginsberg, International Council for Middle East Studies

Macarena Gomez-Barrís, University of Southern California

Barbara Harlow, University of Texas, Austin

Linda Hess, Stanford University

Department of English 1202 HMNSS -040

College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences Riverside, CA 92521

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Cheryl Higashida , University of Colorado, Boulder

Nasser Hussain, Amherst College

Robin D. Kelley, University of California Los Angeles

J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Wesleyan University

Jodi Kim, University of California Riverside

David Klein, California State University, Northridge

Dennis Kortheuer, California State University, Long Beach

Mariam Lam, University of California Riverside

David Lloyd, University of California Riverside

Alex Lubin, University of New Mexico

Sunanina Maira, University of California, Davis

Frederick C. Moten, University of California, Riverside

Bill Mullen, Purdue University

Nadine Suleiman Naber, University of Illinois, Chicago

David Palumbo-Liu, Stanford University

Laura Pulido, University of Southern California

Dylan Rodriguez, University of California Riverside

Jeff Sacks, University of California Riverside

Steven Salaita, Virginia Tech

Sarita See, University of California Riverside

Freya Schiwy, University of California, Riverside

Malini Johar Schueller, University of Florida, Gainesville

Snehal Shingavi, University of Texas, Austin

Rajini Srikanth, University of Massachusetts Boston

Neferti Tadiar, Barnard College