Key facts
- The Columbia University student workers' union has withdrawn its demand for the university to divest from Israel.
- The union's members voted to remove a contract article titled 'Obligations Under International Law'.
- This article had pressed the university to divest from companies and state actors violating international law.
- The union argued that its members, as value producers, should have a say in investment decisions.
- The withdrawal represents a significant change in the union's political orientation.
The Columbia University student workers' union has withdrawn its demand that the university divest financially from Israel. The decision was made at a general body meeting this week, marking a significant shift in the union's political focus. The union, comprising over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate student workers, voted to pull a contract article titled 'Obligations Under International Law.' This article had pushed for the university to divest from companies and state actors deemed to be in violation of international law, as defined by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. It also demanded that the university publicly disclose its finances twice annually and allow the union to submit a list of entities from which it should divest. The union had previously been a strong proponent of the pro-Palestinian movement, advocating for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and campaigning for Columbia to suspend its dual degree program with Tel Aviv University. Negotiations for a successor contract have been ongoing since March 2025, but a stalemate has persisted over the definition of 'workplace issues.'