“I obviously need to go through and read it,” University president Peter Mohler said. “[I] welcome dialogue and look forward to going through their concerns and [will] make sure I get back to them.” Members of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Alabama heard Mohler say these fruitless words on Jan. 14 after presenting him with a newly revised list of demands to end the University’s support of Israel.
In 1948, at least 750,000 Palestinians living in Historic Palestine fled or were forcibly expelled by Israeli settlers. Since then, Israel has violated international law by denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their ancestral homes and imposing an apartheid system that denies Palestinians equal rights.
In 2023, Israel’s violence escalated into a full-blown genocide of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, according to a United Nations commission. The genocide has killed at least 71,266 people, with a more likely estimate putting the death toll at 680,000. Since the “ceasefire” took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, Israel has violated the agreement at least 2,073 times, killing 677 more Palestinians.
Given that Israel has violated human rights for the past 78 years, wouldn’t the University want to withdraw support for companies and organizations that support Israel? The University states that one of its core values is to produce socially-conscious, ethical and well-rounded leaders; the Capstone Creed tells students to embrace and uphold the dignity of all. Despite these supposed values, the University has kept close ties with the U.S. war machine that has allowed Israel to commit genocide.
Members of SJP UA have reached out to President Mohler several times requesting to discuss the University’s complicity in Israel’s crimes and solutions to end that complicity. Despite his “welcome” and enthusiasm for dialogue, SJP UA has yet to hear a response from him.
To President Mohler and the UA System Board of Trustees: You cannot deny that our institution is complicit in Israel’s violent occupation of Palestine.
The University has invited and allowed companies producing mass-murdering weapons such as Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Aviation & Missile Systems and Elbit Systems to recruit students on campus.
American company Lockheed Martin is the primary manufacturer and supplier of F-35 fighter jets to Israel. Israel benefits from one of the world’s largest weapons procurement programs, involving more than 1,600 companies. Lockheed Martin is proud of its extensive collaboration with the Israeli Defense Force, and it has provided the IDF with fighter jets, launch rocket systems, and missile systems since the 1970s.
The University’s relationship with Lockheed Martin goes beyond allowing them to recruit on campus. The company contributes $12,000 per year in exchange for “enhanced recruiting efforts” and “brand recognition on campus” through the Career Champion Program. Additionally, the University accepted a $15 million donation from former Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn A. Hewson, leading to the naming of Hewson Hall.
It seems the University’s desire for blood money supersedes its values of “dignity for all” and “producing ethical leaders.” Alternatively, perhaps the University doesn’t include children in Gaza killed by Lockheed Martin’s products as part of the “all” that deserve dignity.
To students: Do not sell your labor to genocidal companies offering you blood money.
Geographical luck is the only thing separating students in the U.S. from students in Gaza, where Israel has destroyed every single university. The least we can do to show solidarity is not work for companies profiting from the destruction of schools and the murder of students abroad.
Students in the U.S. have historically played an important role in movements for peace and human rights, leading the efforts against the Vietnam War, racial discrimination in the U.S., and South African Apartheid. As the U.S. government’s violence escalates both abroad and domestically, it is our responsibility as students to carry on the legacy of resistance against both our government and our complicit universities. The students, united, will never be defeated.
SJP UA demands that UA end its support for Israel in the following ways:
- Disclose investments made using the UA endowment fund.
- Divest from weapons manufacturers and corporations targeted by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions movement.
- Stop allowing weapons manufacturers to recruit at campus events.
- Drop Lockheed Martin as a Career Champion Partner.
- End research partnerships with the Department of Defense.
- Push to remove Ronald Gray from the Board of Trustees.
- End the contract with Coca-Cola.
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