Københavns Universitet ud af den besatte Vestbred // University of Copenhagen Out of the Occupation

//UPDATE NOVEMBER 2022//
Upon our request, University of Copenhagen has informed us that per November 2022, almost one year after this petition was initiated, the university still holds on to its investments, adding two more companies to the list.
Specifically, University of Copenhagen has a total of 1 million Danish kroner invested in companies that operate in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The university now invests 460.727 Danish kroner in Altice Financing and Altice Luxembourg and 189.355 Danish kroner in CNH Industrial. In addition, the university invests 268.253 Danish kroner in Siemens Financieringsmaatschappij N. V. and 116.375 Danish kroner in Volvo Treasury AB.

Volvo produces building machines and commercial vehicles that have been used for demolitions of Palestinian houses in the West Bank, the establishment of illegal settlements and infrastructure, as well as the construction of the more than 700 km long seperation wall that has cut off thousands of Palestinians from their own land. Siemens supplies Israel with trains which cross the green line into occupied Palestinian land for the use of Israelis only as well as systems for traffic control on roads that are illegal for Palestinians to use.

https://old.danwatch.dk/en/nyhed/companies-with-activities-in-or-around-illegal-israeli-settlements/
https://www.whoprofits.org/company/volvo-group-ab-volvo/
https://www.whoprofits.org/company/siemens/
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En nylig afsløring viser, at Københavns Universitet har investeret 1,3 millioner kroner i firmaer, der opererer i ulovlige israelske bosættelser på den besatte Vestbred. Vi tager kraftig afstand fra, at universitetet er med til at opretholde bosættelser, der udgør en utvetydig krænkelse af folkeretten og er erklæret ulovlige af FN.

De seneste årtier har Israel intensiveret sin bosættelsespolitik med opførelsen af nye bosættelser og store udvidelser af de eksisterende på trods af utallige fordømmelser fra det internationale samfund. Med omkring 600.000 israelske bosættere fordelt på over 200 bosættelser på Vestbredden og i Østjerusalem, er Palæstina i dag fragmenteret i mere end 150 store og små enklaver uden organisk forbindelse til hinanden. KU bidrager til denne fortvivlende udvikling gennem investeringer i firmaer, der på forskellig vis understøtter udvidelsen og opretholdelsen af bosættelserne.

KU har helt konkret investeret 1 million kroner i Altices datterselskaber Altice France og Altice Financing. Derudover har KU en investering i CNH Industrial på 310.000 kroner.

Altice har gennem Hot Telecommunications Systems og Hot Mobile, som optræder på FN’s ‘sorte liste’ over firmaer, der opererer i ulovlige israelske bosættelser, opført 121 antenner på Vestbredden og installeret kabel-TV og telefonlinjer i ulovlige bosættelser. Samtidig betaler Hot Mobile skat til israelske bosættelser, mens Hot Telecommunications Systems driver kundeservice kontorer i bosættelserne Ma’ale Adumim og Pisgat Ze’ev.

CNH Industrial producerer byggemaskiner og erhvervskøretøjer, der anvendes til blandt andet at bygge ulovlige bosættelser, infrastruktur og industrizoner såvel som den mere end 700 kilometer lange mur mellem Israel og Palæstina. Den Internationale Domstol (ICJ) har konkluderet, at konstruktionen af denne mur er ulovlig under folkeretten, og at den strider imod Israels menneskeretlige forpligtelser. Dertil medvirker CNH Industrial til nedrivning af palæstinensiske huse i landsbyerne Khirbet M’fakara, Susya og Bir al-‘Id på Vestbredden.

Vi ønsker ikke, at Københavns Universitet gør sig medskyldig i krænkelser af folkeretten og undertrykkelsen af palæstinenserne. Vi kræver derfor, at universitetet omgående trækker sine investeringer, og derved bringer sig i overensstemmelse med FN’s principper om ansvarlig investering foruden KU’s egen etiske investeringspolitik.

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Denne underskriftsindsamling er oprettet af Studerende mod Besættelsen, som er et initiativ bestående af studerende på tværs af fag og fakulteter på Københavns Universitet, Aalborg Universitet, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) og Syddansk Universitet.
Studerende mod Besættelsen har tidligere kontaktet universitetets ledelse direkte samt gennem et åbent brev i Dagbladet Information. Dette har imidlertid ikke fået KU til at trække investeringerne.

(KU’s investeringer blev første gang beskrevet i en artikelserie i Arbejderen, som offentliggjorde flere danske universiteters investeringer i de ulovlige israelske bosættelser på Vestbredden. Aalborg Universitet har efterfølgende valgt at trække sine investeringer.)

https://www.information.dk/debat/2021/12/kaere-koebenhavns-universitet-traek-jeres-penge-ulovlige-israelske-bosaettelser
https://arbejderen.dk/udland/koebenhavns-universitet-har-investeret-21-millioner-i-firmaer-paa-vestbredden/
https://arbejderen.dk/udland/aalborg-universitet-investerer-i-firmaer-paa-vestbredden/
https://arbejderen.dk/indland/dtu-har-investeret-i-17-firmaer-paa-den-besatte-vestbred/
https://arbejderen.dk/indland/aalborg-universitet-giver-efter-for-pres-og-dropper-investeringer-paa-vestbredden/
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//ENGLISH//
It was recently revealed that the University of Copenhagen has invested 1,3 million Danish kroner in companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank. We vehemently oppose the university taking part in maintaining these settlements, which constitute an unambiguous violation of international law and have been declared illegal by the UN.

In recent years, Israel has intensified its settlements policy with the construction of new settlements as well as expansion of their existing ones, this despite innumerable condemnations from the international community. With approximately 600.000 Israeli settlers, distributed on more than 200 settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, present day Palestine is fragmented in more than 150 large and small enclaves without organic connection between them. The University of Copenhagen is contributing to this desperate situation through their investments in companies which, through various means, support the expansion and preservation of these settlements.

The University of Copenhagen has specifically invested 1 million Danish kroner in the subsidiary companies of Altice, Altice France and Altice Financing. Furthermore, the university has an investment of 310.000 Danish kroner in the company CNH Industrial.

Through Hot Telecommunications Systems and Hot Mobile, which both appear on the UN’s blacklist of companies operating in the illegal Israeli settlements, Altice has erected 121 antennas on the West Bank as well as installed cable television and phone lines in the settlements. Meanwhile, Hot Mobile pays taxes to the Israeli settlements, while Hot Telecommunications Systems run customer service from offices in the settlements Ma’ale Adumim and Pisgat Ze’ev.

CNH Industrial manufactures building machinery in addition to commercial vehicles. This machinery has, among other things, been used to build illegal settlements, infrastructure, industrial zones, and the over 700 kilometer wall between Israel and Palestine. The International Court of Justice has concluded that the construction of this wall is illegal according to international law and that its existence is in conflict with Israel’s obligations toward human rights. Moreover, CNH Industrial contributes to the demolition of Palestinian homes in the villages of Khirbet M’fakara, Susya and Bir al-‘Id on the West Bank.

Our wish is for the University of Copenhagen to not make itself an accomplice to violations of international law and the oppression of Palestinians. For this reason, we demand that the university immediately pull out their investments, hereby aligning itself with the UN’s principles of responsible investments, as well as the university’s own investment policy’s ethics.

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This petition was set up by ‘Studerende mod Besættelsen’ (Students Against the Occupation), an initiative consisting of students from different degrees and faculties at the University of Copenhagen, the University of Aalborg, the Technical University of Denmark, and the University of Southern Denmark.
Studerende mod Besættelsen has previously contacted the university management directly as well as through the publication of an open letter in the newspaper ‘Dagbladet Information’. However, this has not led to the University of Copenhagen pulling out their investments.

(The University of Copenhagen’s investments were originally covered in a series of articles in the magazine ‘Arbejderen’, which disclosed investments made by multiple Danish universities in the illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank. The University of Aalborg subsequently decided to pull out their investments.)