Columbia student protesters are demanding divestment. Here’s what the university has divested from in the past

One of the core demands of the Pro-Palestinian student groups at Columbia that have been protesting over the past week is for the school to withdraw investment funds from what they describe as companies profiting from Israel’s military action in Gaza.

One of the core demands over the past week by the pro-Palestinian student groups at Columbia University has been for the school to withdraw investment funds from what they describe as companies profiting from Israel’s military action in Gaza. Columbia’s endowment is worth $13.6 billion and is managed by a university-owned investment firm. The request from Columbia University Apartheid Divest — a coalition of student groups behind the movement — includes, among other steps, divesting endowment funds from several weapons manufacturers and tech companies that do business with Israel’s government. The group has described those companies as profiting “from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine.” Israel denies accusations of genocide. This is not the first time such demands have been made. Columbia has a history of student activism, from the now-famous 1968 student occupation of multiple campus buildings to raise awareness of the Vietnam War, to hunger strikes over issues such as the university’s expansion in Upper Manhattan. And protesting students also have a history of pushing for Columbia to divest in different movements. In 2000, the university established an advisory committee on socially responsible investing, made up of students, faculty and alumni, to provide feedback to the managers of Columbia’s endowment investments. The group has a formal process for submitting divestment proposals.