Pro-Palestinian Encampment at University of Chicago Demands Reparations, Defunding Police

Pro-Palestinian protesters involved in an encampment at the University of Chicago issued a wide list of demands, including calling for defunding the campus police and reparations.

The encampment, which has been called the “U Chicago Popular University of Gaza,” issued a long list of demands during a rally on Tuesday, during which a protester announced not only that they were demanding  the university “divest” from Israel, but that the university divest from “interrelated forces of death and violence” including “fossil fuel production,” according to Fox News.

“The U Chicago Popular University For Gaza demands that U Chicago, divest from the Gaza genocide. We demand that U Chicago, divest from weapons manufacturers arming Israel and its partnerships with militarized Israeli universities, and cut ties with the Israel Institute,” the protester said. “We also demand that U Chicago, divest from all interrelated forces of death and violence into which it is currently complicit, especially fossil fuel production, UCPD and construction projects that fuel South Side displacement.

The protester added:

The U Chicago Popular University For Gaza demands that the university disclose university investments. We demand full transparency into U Chicago’s budget, investments and holdings, particularly its financial involvement in Israeli apartheid, weapons manufacturing, fossil fuel production, property ownership and investment on the South Side and UCPD. This includes a commitment to regularly disclosing data on funds and holdings in each of these areas. It also includes creating a requiring committee of students, faculty, staff and other community stakeholders to facilitate divestment and ensure that future investment decisions follow established, justice-based guidelines.

The U Chicago Popular University for Gaza demands repair of the harm caused by the university. We demand that U Chicago, repair the harm it has caused in Palestine, Chicago and beyond. This includes explicitly acknowledging such harm as well as implementing a communally accountable program of reparation. More specifically, it includes 1. recognizing Israel’s genocide and scholasticide in Palestine and supporting Birzeit University’s initiative to rebuild Gazan higher education. 2. signing the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. 3. disbanding UCPD and redirecting funds to South Side community-based projects. 4. allocating funds to annual rental assistance and local schools, expanding employer-assisted housing, funding grants for long-term affordable housing, and halting expansion on the South Side. 5. Decarbonizing the endowment and reducing emissions by 50% by 2023, in line with the university’s existing sustainability plan for campus emissions.

The first pro-Palestinian encampment was established at Columbia University on April 17, leading to several students being suspended and hundreds of protesters being arrested the following day.

While the first encampment at Columbia University was removed, another one was established and remained until the New York Police Department conducted a raid after protesters seized control of Hamilton Hall, an academic building on campus.

Pro-Palestinian encampments and protests have sprouted up across college and university campuses across the nation in support of the first encampment at Columbia University.

Protesters involved in the various encampments and protests have issued a varying list of demands, including divesting from Israeli companies, ending academic ties with Israeli educational institutions, ending academic student trips to Israel, providing full amnesty to protesters who have faced criminal charges or academic disciplinary action, and a ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.