Protests at UNC: Call for divestment easier said than done, but message is being heard
Protesters calling for financial transparency from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill want the school to cut ties with Israel. They want administrators to release information on investments with Israeli-connected companies and to divest from those companies, which means move those investments to something else.
That’s easier said than done. UNC's endowment is nearly $5.2 billion. The most recent financial statement from the school shows that money is invested in at least eight different categories, including direct equity, short term funds, long term funds, real estate and more.
Right now, there 109 Israeli-based companies whose stocks are listed on one of the U.S. trading markets. Most are on the NASDAQ, dealing with things like biotech, pharmaceuticals, networking and wireless. Those are all industries that have a major footprint in North Carolina. Those industries are also popular in diversified investment funds because of their growth.
Tracking every company in those investments is really hard, according to Chris Marsicano, an education and public policy expert at Davidson College.
“It would be very, very, very, very hard to understand which companies are contracting with companies who are contracting with companies who are contracting with companies who are doing business with Israel, and that’s the level of detail student protesters are asking for," Marsicano said.
There are plenty of examples about the degrees of separation between investments and Israel. The question is where do you draw that line?
North Carolina exported $158 million worth of goods to Israel last year and imported $312 million in Israeli goods. Israeli defense forces use Amazon web services. Intel just received 3 billion from Israel to build a new chip plant.
Would UNC have to then divest from portfolio boosting stocks like Amazon or even Coca-Cola since Israelis buy the soft drink?
While that’s unlikely, Marsicano said protesters may be winning part of the battle.
“If the goal is divestment, mission very much not accomplished,” he said. “If the goal is bring to bear political pressure to force a cease fire or a greater peace, jury’s out. There may some arguments to say that students are accomplishing that goal.”
The U.S. Department of Education does require schools to disclose gifts, grants and contracts with foreign governments. UNC currently has none. Two contracts between Israel and North Carolina State University recently expired. Duke University has a current contract with Israel that expires in 2026.
