Israeli soldier posts disturbing Instagram photo of child in crosshairs of his rifle

It’s only wrong if he pulled the trigger, right?

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The Electronic Intifada

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A look into USF’s Endowment: Our Money Assits the Israeli Occupation of Palestine

I’m not sure how many students research their university’s endowment, but I decided to do so. This just might’ve been the most exciting Saturday night I’ve had since discovering Chatroulette (before it became a revolving door of livecam masturbators).

Above is the USF endowment report as of June 30, 2013. Not everyone knows how to read these things, and I’m no expert, but I’ll try and simplify it.

To save you a trip to Wikipedia, an endowment is the total value of an institution’s investments. Circled in yellow is USF’s endowment, totaling almost $400 million as of June 2013. The USF foundation handles the fund, investing it in 11 different management firms, the names of which are in the left column. These investments come in different forms: domestic equity, fixed composite, etc.

I found quite disappointing the transparency of the firms that invest our university’s funds. Of the 11 management firms, I was able to find quarterly reports on four of them, indicated with a blue dash on the left. I may be in the minority, but I think it would be nice to know where my university is investing its funds. I wouldn’t want that money going to corporations with a poor adherence to human rights values.

Except that is exactly what is happening. Of those four management firms that release quarterly reports, three of them (circled in red) invest in corporations that are involved in human rights violations around the world.

Above are some of the corporations that these four management firms have stakes in. Wasatch seems to be clear, but the other three show investment in bodies that are clearly involved in human rights violations in occupied Palestinian territories. Highlighted are some of the more prominent names that benefit from Israeli occupation.

Read more below on how these companies aid human rights violations while keeping in mind that the UN and International Court of Justice have consistently ruled, since 1967, that Israeli expansion into the West Bank is in violation of international law.

Caterpillar – CAT machines are used in the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and in the construction of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory and the separation wall. A wall reminiscent of that maligned structure in Berlin, or the DMZ dividing the Koreas.

Hewlett-Packard – Provides checkpoint technology that restricts Palestinian movement throughout territories.

G4S – Provides security technologies in prisons where some are held without charge, many of them children.

Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman – Manufacture weapons and military aircraft used in bombardment of Palestinian homes.

Whether its Palestinians or otherwise, how many people are OK with their university investing its funds in companies that profit from the killing of civilians?

Again, I might be in the minority, but if three out four firms that actually release information about their activity are investing in corporations with a questionable human rights record, I’m not too sure the other seven are so kosher in their ways (no pun intended).

The USF community needs to demand more transparency in the handling of the endowment. Spending money in such a manner blemishes the integrity of everyone that is a part of this institution. Perhaps things would be different if more people were informed of the endowment report. If only there was something being done about this…

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