As student protests around the world call for their educational institutions to divest from companies with ties to Israel, we speak to the Reverend Dr. Serene Jones, the president of Union Theological Seminary, an ecumenical seminary affiliated with Columbia University that is one of the first schools to begin divesting from companies that “profit from war in Palestine/Israel.” Jones says divestment is an extension of Union’s “long policy of trying our best to bring our values, our core mission and our conscience to bear on how we invest our money,” and credits student activists with pushing the administration to action. Jones criticizes Columbia’s decision to arrest student protesters with a “police takeover” and “violent decampment,” in contrast to Union’s approach to student political expression. “We support students learning what it means to find their voice and speak out for justice and freedom,” she says.
