Divesting university endowments from firms associated with Israel has received renewed attention. Northwestern and Brown universities and Trinity College in Ireland, among many other institutions, are actively considering removing these investment assets of companies. Moreover, U.S. companies working with Israel — for example, Amazon and Google — and institutions, such as the Art Institute Of Chicago, have also been pressured to terminate relationships with Israel.
Divestment activities against Israel should be abandoned. Regardless of the culpability of participants in the Gaza conflict, targeting one country for its purported transgressing behavior — among many others whose behavior may be as, or even more, objectionable — lacks any logical basis and is inappropriately discriminatory.
The current divest-Israel wave has been aroused by the Israel-Hamas War and the multi-faceted tragedies that always accompany armed conflicts. But purported transgressing behavior is not confined to the Middle East. China has interned nearly one million members of the Uyghur Muslim minority in “re-education camps.” Additionally, tens of thousands of Uyghurs have been imprisoned.
In India, the ruling political party has engaged in purported transgressing behavior against India’s 200 million Muslims, dividing India along Hindu-Muslim lines and leading to deadly attacks against Muslims. Recent behavior involves the introduction of a citizenship test largely excluding Muslims and Prime Minister Modi’s recent speech describing India’s Muslims as “infiltrators.” Do these actions require that universities divest from firms doing business with China and India?
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Added to this list of purported transgressing behavior are the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the deportation of the Rohingya minority from Myanmar, the state-sponsored war in Darfur, and human rights violations in Qatar, a country where Northwestern University maintains a branch campus.
Regardless of one’s perspective, Israel is surely not the only country with behavior that may be viewed as objectionable. If divestment is to proceed against firms dealing with Israel, then it also needs to proceed against virtually every firm in the world, since very few do not have dealings with China, India, Russia, et al. Such a wide-ranging, equitable divestment is clearly not feasible. Targeted divestment against Israel, without targeting other countries, fails any reasonable logical standard. Such actions are antisemitic, pure and simple.
Divestment discussions should be abandoned, and administrators and trustees at Northwestern and other universities should return to their primary goal of ensuring a high-quality education with improved financial accessibility.
Bob Chirinko, Northwestern ’82, finance professor, University of Illinois at Chicago (views are his own)
How to end debate about bikes vs. cars
For years now, I’ve been reading “debates” on my local neighborhood “news” site called Nextdoor about bikes versus cars. It’s no more a debate, however, than are debates between Republicans and Democrats.
“Debate” suggests an open mind, a back-and-forth, which these lack. Instead, reflecting what passes as social discourse nowadays, these are, at best, talking points, and at worst, shouting matches.
But then it hit me: everyone is actually correct! Both sides are 100% right! Can’t you see the commonality? It’s all so obvious.
The issue is not cars or bikes. The issue is cars and bikes. Actually, the problem is wheels. All wheels.
Obviously, cars — those evil machines designed to kill and pollute — should be banned. That’s easy. All of them. Everywhere. Even the cute hybrid and electric ones, I am afraid.
Before you lament, think of all the money you’ll save not buying air fresheners and fuzzy dice to hang from your rearview mirror. And now you won’t need excuses not to visit your mother-in-law in Toledo. And you can thankfully say goodbye to car washes, what a time suck.
And bikes? Where do I start? Just this week, I saw two kids get run over or run into by bikes. So they must go too. Obviously.
Skateboards, wheel barrels, roller skates, shopping carts, and scooters, good riddance. Tractors buses, and baby strollers? Who needs ‘em? Planes and trains? Adios. And have you ever seen a runaway wheelchair? Killers. Like contraband in a jail, even those little annoying wheels that slide your dishwasher rack must go.
All must be made illegal. Pronto. For safety. Of course. Dust off those pogo sticks. Invest in helicopters.
One exception: model trains are OK. For now. So long as it’s only in your basement. But we’ll reassess those too in time.
And cheese wheels — so long as in moderation — are OK too. But no brie cheese. Duh!
Wheel of Fortune must go too. Pat and Vanna should have retired long ago, so no big loss there. Reruns are OK.
The new required law — for safety — is now so obvious: Only walking is allowed. But for equity’s sake, no fast walkers. They’re dangerous and showoffs.
Instead, everyone must walk at the same pace. That’s “fair.” Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. You get the idea.
And while we’re at it, no honors classes, of course. For anyone!
For those who actually care about safety and fellow human beings, this is all now so obvious. And we do it all not just for safety, but of course for the kids. The children! It’s all about “the children.” Always. “The children.” Rinse and repeat.
If you’d like to discuss, meet at DePaul. We can stay as long as we want. Bring your wheels for the bonfire.
William Choslovsky, Sheffield Neighbors
Museum’s founder didn’t make it vanity project
I read with interest your article on the renaming of the Museum of Science and Industry. What you neglected to mention was the money for the original museum came from the founder of Sears Roebuck & Company, Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish philanthropist and civil rights advocate. He didn’t need his name on his generous gift to Chicago.
Diane Levine, Near North
