Tipsheet

UNL Student Government Passes SJP-Backed Israel Divestment Resolution

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  February 06, 2026 6:30 PM

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is the latest college campus to consider a bill to "divest" from companies that do business with Israel. 

Called the "Divest for Humanity Act," the resolution would require UNL to "divest funds allocated towards Israel," if the motion passed in a 22-10 vote.

Here's more:

According to Students Justice for Palestine, the University of Nebraska’s system invests $9 million into defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, some of which goes to Israel.

Those against the bill say this measure is antisemitic.

“This resolution is also anti-Nebraska,” said one student. “It will not accomplish anything for our University.”

“This bill points out that there are other genocides in this world, but only puts these genocides on one state,” said another student. “It makes them responsible for all of it.”

But those in favor of it say the killing in Palestine needs to stop.

“Palestinians will never have the same rights as Israeli’s as long as Israel exists,” said a student in support of the measure.

“I’ve never heard someone say in a classroom that we need to invest in more killing,” said a student at UNMC.

According to sources at UNL, the Student Government Association substantially altered the resolution just before the vote, reportedly removing at least one explicit reference to Israel and adding language about other countries, including Myanmar, Yemen, and Guatemala. Despite these changes, sources say, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is taking a victory lap.

The resolution reads:

WHEREAS, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and Association of Students of the University of Nebraska (ASUN) are committed to the safety, wellbeing, and educational opportunities of students worldwide and in oppressed nations; and

WHEREAS, UNL has a moral imperative to divest from regimes engaged in apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and/or genocide; and

WHEREAS, 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 (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High-Commissioner); and

WHEREAS, Israel has destroyed and bombed all universities in Gaza (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor); and

WHEREAS, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a Resolution on September 18, 2024 that calls on states to take steps towards ending the “transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel, the occupying Power, in all cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” (UNGA 7); and

WHEREAS, there is a desire to consider how the University of Nebraska System can support the UNGA’s Resolution in a meaningful way; and

WHEREAS, the University of Nebraska System currently has over $9,000,000 invested in the top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world such as General Dynamics, Boeing, and Caterpillar corporations, listed from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which supply weaponry and military aid used to sustain the occupation, profit from violence against Palestinians, and manufacture the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, alongside companies that facilitate and enable violations of international law and human rights in Palestine, Guatemala, Myanmar, Yemen, the Philippines, the United States-Mexico border, or anywhere in the world; and

WHEREAS, UNL students are concerned with the moral implications in investing in weapons manufacturers that are contributing to Israel’s destruction of the Gaza Strip and other actors’ use of university-invested weapons such as the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan; and

WHEREAS, UNL’s Role, Mission, and Values states that “many of the university’s teaching, research, and service activities have an international dimension in order to provide its students and the state a significant global perspective”; and

WHEREAS, the University claims a core value of “Stewardship of the human, financial, and physical resources committed to our care”; and

WHEREAS, continued investment in these weapons companies contradicts UNL’s stated values and undermines its responsibility as a global institution committed to ethical conduct, transparency, and integrity; and

WHEREAS, ASUN is “sensitive to the needs of UNL students” according to ASUN Bylaws, Section 3B; and

WHEREAS, ASUN is a “strong advocate for minority and underrepresented student issues” to ensure that all students are “afforded a safe, respectful, and inclusive university environment, and challenge intolerance and misinformation” according to ASUN Bylaws, Section 3B; and

WHEREAS, students at UNL have the rightful concern and desire to ensure that their university system’s endowments are not invested in military violence and/or companies that violate international law and human rights; and

WHEREAS, one of ASUN’s purposes is to “serve as an agency through which the relationship between the administration, faculty, and students” be maintained per Article II of ASUN’s Constitution; and

WHEREAS, continuing the University of Nebraska System’s investment in these companies without a concern from ASUN contradicts ASUN’s stated values in advocating for the needs of students and advocacy for underrepresented student issues; and

WHEREAS, according to Board of Regents Policies, one of the primary investment objectives of investing the endowment funds is to “consistently integrate environmental, social and governance factors into investment management strategies, processes and practices in the belief these factors can benefit the endowment’s performance and provide a qualitative impact consistent with the values, culture and mission of the University of Nebraska” (RP-6.64); and

WHEREAS, it is financially possible and sustainable for the University of Nebraska System to consider changing and reviewing its investment policies to exclude weapons manufacturers from its investment portfolios, and to do so without harming the University of Nebraska System’s profits by investing in alternative non-arms-producing companies; and

WHEREAS, divestment is a historic student movement associated with the divestment of South Africa in the 20th century, and the University of Nebraska System has divested from certain fossil fuel companies in 2025;

THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED, the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln 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; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, ASUN assigns the ASUN Executives to serve as an agency and partner with Students for Justice in Palestine at UNL to discuss the viability of divestment; to discuss the logistics in advocating for divestment at the University of Nebraska System; and to take steps toward recommending the Board of Regents change the University of Nebraska System’s investment policy to exclude the aforementioned weapons manufacturers, ensuring alignment with Board of Regents policies while reflecting student needs; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY ENACTED, physical and digital copies of this bill shall be delivered to the following recipients for documentation and notification

A UNL student who spoke before the vote on the resolution said this was driven by the SJP. The bill was "literally signed, authored by SJP. It’s an SJP-pushed thing.” 

The student also spoke during the open forum hours, when participants had three minutes to voice their opinions on the resolution. The student "touched on a couple of different points," including that the Nebraska legislature is working on a bill to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. That student said that while many who spoke supported the resolution, it "doesn't represent the entire opinion of the 24,000-ish students who attend UNL."

Before this vote, the student spoke about the campus atmosphere. "There were a couple of isolated incidents, here and there, nothing like you see before or after October 7 in other places."

Despite the vote, UNL Board of Regents Chairman Paul Kenney said the regents do not plan to act on the resolution. “While the University of Nebraska respects student governance and our students' right to voice their perspectives, the members of the NU Board of Regents do not have plans to act on the divestiture resolution passed during Wednesday’s ASUN meeting at UNL," Kenney said, according to Nebraska Public Media. Likewise, UNL interim chancellor Katherine Ankerson said the resolution is not binding. 

“Our Board of Regents retains final authority on matters of university policy,” she said. “UNL remains committed to fostering a safe and respectful environment for students, faculty, staff, and community members.”

When asked how SJP and supporters of the measure would react to the university's refusal to adopt the measure, the student said, "I don't know how SJP is going to react. Only time will tell." The student also noted that similar measures were passed by student governments at campuses across the country, and that universities typically don't act on them.

"Nebraska is a lovely place, and the people who attend Nebraska are lovely people. The opinions of a few people don't necessarily represent the opinions of everybody," the student said.

Several Nebraska officials have condemned the resolution. Governor Jim Pillen and Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, called the proposal "antisemitic."

"Antisemitism has no place on college campuses," Terrell wrote on X. 

"Antisemitism can have no place or platform at Nebraska's flagship university," Pillen added, saying he "condemned this move by the radical Students for Justice in Palestine."

Rep. Don Bacon also said he "strongly encouraged UNL students to oppose" the measure, and that "the BDS movement seeks to isolate and defeat Israel, the only democracy in the region."