DISCLOSE! DIVEST! BYU!
Disclose! Divest! BYU!
“Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” has been the rallying cry of student activists across the nation. Over the past month, students have organized Palestinian solidarity protests and encampments across hundreds of college campuses, including at the University of Utah. They are demanding universities to disclose their investments and divest endowment funds from companies and institutions that profit from Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and war in Gaza, which has been deemed a “plausible genocide” by the International Court of Justice.[1] These demands are modeled after the global divestment movement that helped end South African apartheid.[2] Given this surge of Palestinian solidarity sweeping campuses across the nation, where are calls for divestment at BYU? Just as the BYU Slavery Project clarified BYU’s historical ties to slavery, this article seeks to clarify BYU’s ongoing ties to Israel, weapons manufacturers, and war profiteers. In doing so, it hopes to (1) incite dialogue regarding university divestment at BYU and (2) give direction to BYU students wanting to help support Palestinian human rights and participate in the current global divestment movement.
BYU’s Ties to Israel
BYU maintains close ties to Israel via the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, a satellite campus for BYU’s Study Abroad and Travel Studies programs. The Center is situated on a 5.5 acre plot of land on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem that was violently expropriated by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.[3] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first expressed interest in the land in 1974, eventually signing a renewable 49-year lease with the Israel Land Authority in 1987[4] and constructing a $20 million facility upon it.[5] By leasing land from the Israel Land Authority and bolstering Israel’s tourism industry, the Jerusalem Center continues to enrich the state of Israel and legitimize Israel’s illegal annexation and occupation of East Jerusalem and Palestine more generally. This makes BYU complicit in Israel’s ongoing crimes in the West Bank and Gaza, contradicting the ethical commitments of BYU’s Mission Statement, which states that “all relationships within the BYU community should reflect devout love of God and a loving, genuine concern for the welfare of our neighbor.”
BYU’s Ties to War Profiteers
In 2021, BYU’s endowment was valued at $2.55 billion,[6] and like many universities, BYU does not publicly disclose how these funds are invested.[7] Nevertheless, there is strong evidence suggesting the university funds companies that profit from Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and war on Gaza. Take, for example, Ensign Peak Advisors (EPA), the investment manager of the Church of Jesus Christ. Although the Church abstains from the “sin stocks” of companies that sell tobacco, alcohol, and caffeinated beverages,[8] EPA invests hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons manufacturers, such as Boeing ($198M), Lockheed Martin ($90M), RTX ($53M), and Northrop Grumman ($25M), according to their latest 13F-HR filing.[9] Additionally, BYU receives millions of dollars annually for sponsored research from the Department of Defense ($2.4M) and weapons manufacturers such as Boeing ($255K), Northrop Grumman ($141K), RTX ($40K), and L3Harris ($30K).[10] And that doesn’t even account for BYU’s five-year (2022–27) Educational Partnership Agreement with the US Air Force,[11] or BYU’s five-year (2024-29) $3.7 million grant to train and enlist its cybersecurity students to work for the NSA and DHS.[12] Therefore, given the Church’s investments in weapons manufacturers and BYU’s thorough integration within the military-industrial complex, it is highly likely that BYU has investments in companies supporting the ongoing war in Gaza.
Student Demands
BYU’s ties to Israel and war profiteers implicates it in the unfolding atrocities in Gaza, directly contradicting its ethical commitments as an “institution that is unequivocally true to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”[13] To hold BYU accountable to its own stated principles, BYU students in solidarity with Palestineans might consider issuing demands along these lines:
1. BYU must disclose its investments to allow for greater transparency and public accountability.
2. BYU must divest from (1) Israeli companies; (2) companies materially supporting Israeli occupation and apartheid, such as Intel, Google, and AirBnB;[14] and (3) weapons manufacturers supplying Israel, such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and RTX. This mirrors the demands of students from Columbia,[16] Cornell,[17] and the University of Utah.[18]
3. BYU must acknowledge that the Jerusalem Center sits upon stolen land by (1) canceling its Study Abroad and Travel Study programs to the Center indefinitely, as it did between 2001 and 2006,[4] and (2) either terminating its lease with the Israel Land Authority prematurely or refusing to renew its lease in 2037.
4. BYU must end its silence and release a public statement that calls for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza and urges government officials to do so too.
Research
[1] Fatima Al-Kassab, “A top U.N. court says Gaza genocide is 'plausible' but does not order cease-fire,” NPR, January 26, 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1227078791/icj-israel-genocide-gaza-palestinians-south-africa.
[2] Chris McGreal, “Boycotts and sanctions helped rid South Africa of apartheid – is Israel next in line?” The Guardian, May 23, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/23/israel-apartheid-boycotts-sanctions-south-africa.
[3] Decker Westenburg, “BYU Jerusalem Center highlights history of peace, conflict,” The Daily Universe, June 1, 2021, https://universe.byu.edu/2021/06/01/byu-jerusalem-center-highlights-history-of-peace-conflict/.
[4] “Historical Timeline,” BYU Jerusalem Center Alumni, 2023, https://byujerusalemalumni.com/jerusalem-timeline/.
[5] Scott Taylor, “BYU Leases Israel Center for 49 Years,” Deseret News, May 18, 1988, https://www.deseret.com/1988/5/18/18766373/byu-leases-israel-center-for-49-years/.
[6] “Brigham Young University-Provo,” Data USA, 2021, https://datausa.io/profile/university/brigham-young-university-provo.
[7] Andrea Suozzo, et al., “Brigham Young University,” ProPublica, April 24, 2024, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/475608488/202323199349315302/full.
[8] “The Widow’s Mite: LDS Church: “Sin Stocks” and “War & Weapon Stocks,” The Widow’s Mite Report, 2023, https://widowsmitereport.wordpress.com/sinstocks/.
[9] “Ensign Peak Advisors,” Stockzoa, 2024, https://stockzoa.com/fund/ensign-peak-advisors-inc/.
[10] “2023 Annual Report of Sponsored Research,” BYU Research Administration Office, 2024, https://spo.byu.edu/0000018e-af11-d811-a7bf-af3b46790001/2023-annual-report-pdf.
[11] Lauren Woolley, “BYU-Air Force partnership to further national security research,” The Daily Universe, October 17, 2023, https://universe.byu.edu/2022/10/17/byu-air-force-partnership-to-further-national-security-provide-civilian-jobs/.
[12] Eliza Pace, “BYU receives $3.7 million grant for cybersecurity students to train for government jobs,” KSL News, February 15, 2024, https://ksltv.com/623019/byu-receives-3-7-million-grant-for-cybersecurity-students-to-train-for-government-jobs/.
[13] Shane Reese, “Becoming BYU: An Inaugural Response,” BYU Speeches, September 19, 2023, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/c-shane-reese/becoming-byu-an-inaugural-response/.
[14] “Act Now Against These Companies Profiting from the Genocide of the Palestinian People,” BDS Movement, January 5, 2024, https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Against-These-Companies-Profiting-From-Genocide.
[15] “Demands,” Columbia University Apartheid Divest, 2024, https://cuapartheiddivest.org/demands.
[16] Kim Bellware, “College students are protesting schools’ ties to Israel. Here’s why,” The Washington Post, May 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/05/03/campus-protest-origins-demands-divest/.
[17] Courtney Tanner, “Police end University of Utah student pro-Palestine rally with riot gear and 19 arrests,” The Salt Lake Tribune, April 30, 204, https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2024/04/29/university-utah-students-join-pro/.