UM won't divest cash from endowment, says small fraction indirectly invested in Israel

Amid ongoing calls for the University of Michigan to divest its endowment funds from Israeli companies, the Board of Regents reiterated Thursday that it plans no such move and said there are no direct Israeli investments, only indirect, which are miniscule compared with what student activists have cited.

"We are not moving to make any divestment of any kind from the university endowment," Board of Regents Chair Sarah Hubbard said firmly.

Hubbard's comment came as pro-Palestinian students and activists have been lobbying the university to divest from its $17.9 billion endowment any funds from Israeli companies, an effort launched years ago. But the lobbying has escalated in recent months amid the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza and has included numerous campus protests, including one Sunday that was t he first to disrupt a university sanctioned event, the celebration of high-achieving students at the 101th Honors Convention.

Students also demonstrated Thursday outside the building where the regents met.

UM has listened to the divestment calls, Hubbard said, adding that the primary purpose of the endowment is to generate as much income as possible to support the university's mission.

"Our endowment supports numerous scholarships for needy students and drives groundbreaking research across the university and world," Hubbard said. "Careful stewardship of the endowment is critical to sustaining academic excellence, because the endowment itself provides a perpetual source of income ... which last year supported the critical needs of the university."

She said regents' finance, audit and investment committee has deliberated about its policy regarding divestment.

"We will continue to shield the endowment from political pressures and base our investment decisions on financial factors such as risk and return," Hubbard said.

Activists have said the UM has $6 billion of its money invested in Israel, which is about one-third of the university's endowment. Many are lobbying amid a war that started after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel in October, killing more than 1,130 people and abducting nearly 300 Israelis, including children. In response, Israel has launched an attack on Gaza that has lead to the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians, which include children, according to Gazan authorities, who don't make a distinction between military and civilian casualties.

The Palestinian advocacy group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality has argued that the university should "divest from companies that fund and participate in the genocide of the Palestinian people." Israel and Jewish supporters have contended that Israel is defending itself after being attacked and is trying to root out a network of tunnels in Gaza.

Regent Michael Behm said that after hearing numerous requests for divestment, he asked UM's endowment managers and learned that UM has "no direct investment in any Israeli company."

He also disputed what divestment activists say the UM has investment in Israel.

"In actuality, less than 1/10 of 1% of the endowment is invested indirectly in such companies," Behm said.

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