Sheffield University Palestine society is delighted to announce that the Students' Union has passed a motion to join the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

The motion was passed by referendum in which all students were entitled to vote.

The results were as follows:

Total number of votes cast= 3303
Yes: 2194 (66.42%)
No: 420 (12.72%)
Abstain: 689 (20.86%)

link:  http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/you-run-us/elections/suce-2012/files/Referenda-SUC-Election-Results-2012.pdf

Israel is involved in a brutal military occupation of the Palestinian territories ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEukvh_Ajv4). The occupation is responsible for widespread and ongoing human rights abuses against the local Palestinian population, including destruction of homes, theft of land & water resources, imprisonment without trial, torture of prisoners, and construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

This is in violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & the Charter of the United Nations. The settlements have also been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice and the UK government.

The Union believes that Israel should end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and allow the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with international law.

The Union resolves to:-

- Inform our members of the background to the situation in Israel/Palestine and to commemorate Palestine Solidarity Day, working with relevant groups such as the Sheffield Students’ Union Palestine Society.

- Lobby our university to divest itself from and terminate any contracts with companies that are complicit in the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

- Join the global movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it ends the occupation and complies with international law ( http://www.bdsmovement.net/call).

link:  http://shef.ac.uk/union/petitions/view/16