Amid anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, the university's Union Theological Seminary (UTS) announced it will divest all its investments in Israel, Newsweek reported on Monday, responding to protester demands.
This academic institution is the first to take such a step following a wave of campus protests calling for divestment from companies "profiting from the genocide in Gaza," according to protesters.
Pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University
(Photo: NYPD )
The demonstrations, which erupted in recent weeks across U.S. campuses, including those in the prestigious Ivy League, have been marked by verbal and sometimes physical violence against Jewish and Israeli students, frequent antisemitic statements and explicit support for terrorism. One of the key demands of the protesters has been the divestment from Israel.
According to a UTS statement, the divestment involves approximately $110 million from Israeli companies, those operating in Israel or those maintaining business relations with it.
Although UTS is affiliated with Columbia University and offers degrees under its umbrella, it operates independently, and its decision does not affect Columbia University's policies as a whole. However, advocacy groups fear this could lead to similar actions by other academic institutions.
On May 9, the UTS in New York announced that its board of trustees had endorsed a divestment plan from "companies profiting from war in Palestine/Israel", according to the report.
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Pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University
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"Over the decades, we have developed what are called 'socially responsible investment (SRI) screens' to express our values and not financially support damaging and immoral investments," the seminary said in a statement.
"With respect to companies that are profiting from the present war in Palestine, we continue to hold these standards high and have taken steps to identify all investments, both domestic and global, that support and profit from the present killing of innocent civilians in Palestine, whose numbers are now over 34,000—and a humanitarian crisis of ever-growing magnitude."
The seminary said it remained "unequivocal" in its denouncement of the civilian deaths caused by Hamas terrorists on October 7. It added, "Our investment policies will continue to adapt, guided by our values, to strengthen the resolve that undergirds our decision today."
In a statement to Newsweek, UTS President Serene Jones said, "Union has a 187-year tradition of advancing peace and justice. The Board of Trustees was driven to undertake this months-long process to ensure that we have a proactively just investment policy in accordance with our deep religious, spiritual, and core values. We're constantly evolving to better embody our core values. This was an act of conscience and the vote was an extension of Union's policies to ensure our investment portfolio reflects those core values."
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Pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University
(Photo: Alex Kent / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
UTS is the oldest religious seminary in the United States, renowned as a center for advanced Christian scholarship, with several prominent thinkers among its alumni and faculty. One notable name associated with the institution is Prof. Cornel West, a vocal critic of Israel, who ran as an independent candidate for U.S. President in 2014 and again in 2024.
Founded in 1836 by members of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S., the seminary, which trains clergy and offers advanced degrees in theology, is now open to Christian students from all denominations. It is considered part of Columbia University's theological faculty, alongside the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS).
Columbia University's President Minouche Shafik announced that despite pro-Palestinian students setting up a "Gaza Solidarity Tent" on campus, Columbia "will not disengage from Israel."
Following her decision to call in the police to remove the protesters from campus, UTS President Serene Jones criticized Shafik's action, stating, "The seminary has a strict policy prohibiting the New York police from entering the campus, except in the rare case where a serious crime has been committed." She addressed the protesters and the university community, affirming, "You have our commitment to enforce this policy fully and strongly. You have my support."