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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18088/full/18088/hundreds-sign-online-u-c-anti-divestment-petition/ <br /><br /> <b>Hundreds sign online U.C. anti-divestment petition</b> <br /> Friday, July 12, 2002 | by <p>JOE ESKENAZI </p> <br /><br /><p>When an Israeli divestment petition cropped up at MIT and Harvard, the subsequent anti-divestment petition garnered almost a dozen times as many signatures.<br /><br /> With a University of California-wide divestment petition launched in Berkeley last month, opponents here are hoping their counter-petition will also pick up a dozen times as many signatures.<br /><br /> Advocates of U.C. divestment "are trying to paint it as if they're mirroring a successful campaign at Harvard and MIT, despite the fact the other side had 11 times the signatures," said David Weinberg, a U.C. Berkeley sophomore and director of the newly formed U.C. Justice Campaign.<br /><br /> "What proponents of divestment are trying to do is take a very, very small fringe opinion and make it sound very educated and authoritative, give it the authenticity of a university community, despite the fact most people do not support it. Talking to people on different campuses, there's a substantial groundswell against divestment, but no infrastructure to react. There's a very strong anti-Israel infrastructure to work with."<br /><br /> Launched in early June, the divestment campaign Web site—<a href="http://www.ucdivest.org">http://www.ucdivest.org</a>—had garnered more than 700 signatures by midweek. Launched on July 5, the U.C. Justice Campaign's anti-divestment Web site—<a href="http://www.ucjustice.org">http://www.ucjustice.org</a>—had already picked up more than 450 signatures by midweek.<br /><br /> The anti-divestment petition also boasts 64 faculty signatures, while the divestment petition has been signed by 174 U.C. faculty members.<br /><br /> "The only reason Joe Shmo the faculty member hasn't gotten 10 signatures from people in his office opposing [divestment] is he didn't have something in his hands to walk up to friends and say 'please sign this,'" said Weinberg. "We realized we needed to put this piece of paper into people's hands."<br /><br /> While Weinberg and many of the U.C. Justice Campaign's leaders are Jewish pro-Israel activists, they claim the organization and petition is not just for Jews and pro-Israel activists.<br /><br /> Instead, they claim divestment is a disastrous idea peddled by disingenuous backers, and anyone opposing it can sign the anti-divestment petition and not feel he or she has leant support to anything more or less.<br /><br /> "We have diverse opinions on how peace in the Middle East can be achieved, and widely differing views of the policies of the current Israeli government," reads the petition.<br /><br /> "We are unanimous, however, in our condemnation of this petition as a one-sided and counter-productive attempt to delegitimize Israel. No less than the Palestinians, Israel has a right to exist free from violence. To place blame solely on Israel for the current situation, and to demand unilateral concessions without showing any concern for the safety and well-being of its citizens, is unjust. Reasonable people should work for a peacefully negotiated solution based upon respectful dialogue, rather than single out Israel for partisan attack."<br /><br /> Weinberg questioned the motives of divestment backers, noting the word "peace" does not appear on the Students for Justice in Palestine's petition.<br /><br /> "It's very cynical to consider yourself a peace activist and not even include it as an afterthought within the framework of what you're doing," he said. "That's very cold, short-sighted and calculating. That doesn't help anyone on either side."<br /><br /> Like its divestment counterpart, the anti-divestment petition is open to U.C. students, staff, faculty members, alumni and community residents. Weinberg encouraged sending the petition to friends, family and co-workers who "you think will agree," but discouraged mass e-mails.<br /><br /> In order to equal the proportional success of the MIT-Harvard anti-divestment petition, the U.C. Justice Campaign's will have to pick up at least 8,000 signatures—and Weinberg thinks he can do it.<br /><br /> "Really, there are way more than that who agree with us. The issue is just mobilizing them," he said. "There's no need for dirty tricks in this. We'll run a very honest, straightforward, clean campaign, and we'll win. The numbers really are on our side."</p> <p> </p>

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