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The President of UC’s Associated Students, Will Smelko, vetoed a bill late Wednesday night that would have called for the University’s divestment from Israel. The week prior to the veto, the student senate had overwhelmingly passed the bill by a 16-4 vote taken in the early morning hours following much debate. Smelko supported his decision on the grounds that the move to divest had not been sufficiently debated. Co-authored by a member of Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Berkeley, the bill called for the ASUC and the UC system to immediately halt investments in two American companies that provide Israel with weapons. General Electric and United Technologies were highlighted in the context of allegations that the Israeli Army has committed human rights abuses in the West Bank and are responsible for war crimes in Gaza. The divestment bill, though overwhelmingly approved by the student senate, faced much criticism in the lead up to the veto on the grounds that is ‘anti-Israel’ and supposedly singles out the nation unfairly. Last week’s veto may however only prove to be a temporary setback as it can be overridden by fourteen student senate votes.

GUESTS: Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, Co-author of the ‘UC Divestment from War Crimes’ bill, and Mohamed Mahmud. Both are members of Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Berkeley

For more information, visit www.caldivestfromapartheid.com and www.calsjp.org.