On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (ASUN) has scheduled a vote on a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution to divest from “weapons complicit in the genocide and atrocities worldwide.”
An Instagram post from Students for Justice in Palestine and Lincoln for Palestine stated that students should attend the ASUN Senate Hearing to encourage their school to stop investing in these weapons.
“Currently, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln investment policy does not exclude weapon manufacturers, which results in over $9 million invested into weapons that are killing Palestinians and other oppressed nations,” the post said. “As a university institution, it is antithetical and contradictory for us to continue investments in bombs that have destroyed every university in Gaza and the livelihood of Palestinian students, professors, and administrators.”
“As a university institution, it is antithetical and contradictory for us to continue investments in bombs that have destroyed every university in Gaza and the livelihood of Palestinian students, professors, and administrators.”
The open forum on the resolution, titled the Divest for Humanity Act, is taking place at 6:30 p.m. on February 4. There is an option to submit a statement “telling your student senators why the University of Nebraska System should change its investment policy to EXCLUDE WEAPONS,” according to another Instagram post.
SJP and Lincoln for Palestine allege that arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics are “complicit in the genocide of Palestinian (sic), have ties to ICE, and are unethical.” They continue, “UNL’s student government should be in support of divestment as these companies do not reflect UNL’s values.”
The resolution text states that, “Israel has destroyed and bombed all universities in Gaza,” “the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory’s investigation has concluded that Israel is committing a genocide in Palestine,” and “UNL students are concerned with the moral implications in investing in weapons manufacturers that are contributing to Israel’s destruction of the Gaza strip.”
In May of 2025, another BDS was put in front of ASUN, but it did not receive the two-thirds majority vote it needed to pass. In May of the previous year, more than 100 students and staff members on campus gathered to partake in the “Liberated Zone for Palestine,” which featured teach-ins, chants, and dances. During it, four demands were made, including ending a UNL-sponsored study abroad program in Jerusalem, prohibiting receiving future funds or grants from Israel, disclosing university investments in Israel, and divesting from them.
Though widespread anti-Israel encampments have not popped up in the news lately like they did in May of 2024, BDS resolutions and votes continue to occur at universities nationwide. During Yom Kippur of 2025, the University of Maryland Student Government Association voted 29-0-1 to pass a BDS resolution, and the previous month, a divestment referendum was presented at the University of Connecticut. Ultimately, students convinced student senators that the questions in the referendum put forth a biased agenda, therefore violating bylaws of neutrality.
BDS has been around at universities for the past two decades. The group’s goal is to get universities to stop investing in Israel, and since October 7, 2023, those efforts have only ramped up. Students for Justice in Palestine and similar groups lead these campaigns, coming up with referendums and resolutions to present to student governments. BDS does not encourage Israelis and Palestinians to work together. Instead, it supports the phrase “from the river to the sea,” which means the eradication of Israel altogether.
At UNL, the newest BDS resolution is being sent to the president of university, the vice chancellor for student life, the chief investment officer at the University of Nebraska Foundation, and the chief financial officer for the university system, among other staff members.
The Divest for Humanity Act text states, “the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (ASUN) urges that the University of Nebraska System change its investment policy to exclude weapons manufacturer companies that provide weapons, military aid, and military technology to the state of Israel in order to make its endowment consistent with the values, culture, and mission of the University of Nebraska and the needs of students.”
