Israel Iran War: Yale University students on hunger strike against weapons investments

The hunger strike launched by Yale University students has entered its fourth day today. The students are demanding a complete divestment of the university from weapons manufacturing.

Some students at Yale University have started a hunger strike as part of an ongoing demand from the university to divest from weapons manufacturers involved in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The hunger strike started on April 13 by a group of students known as Hunger Strikers for Palestine.

The group of students comprises 12 graduates and two undergraduates. The students had demanded that the university must publish a statement by the morning of April 12 about committing to divestment from weapons manufacturers “contributing to Israel’s assault on Palestine.” The student had said that if such a statement will not be issued by the university then only the students will start their hunger strike.

Yale students sit on hunger strike after 7 years

Earlier in April 2017, the graduate student union of Yale University sat on a hunger strike to pressure the university to start contract negotiations. This was followed by the winning of Local 33 in February 2017 in the eighth departmental labour elections. The university refused to sit down with the union due to pending legal appeals with the National Labor Relations Board at the time. The strike lasted for four weeks.

Yale University's Students Hunger Strike Details

The student across the University continued their letter-writing campaign to University President Peter Salovey on April 14, in support of the strikers.

“Day two, a lot of the hunger strikers are feeling lower energy, but we’re firm in our commitment to liberation of Palestine and also of course in our urge to Yale to divest from weapons manufacturing,” the organizer said.

Seven faculty members named Guggenheim Fellows

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded Fellowships 2024 to seven Yale faculty members among the 188 writers, artists, scholars and scientists. The seven faculty members include - Ben Hagari, Elizabeth Hinton, Tavia Nyong’o, Douglas Rogers, Travis Zadeh, Ned Blackhawk, and Marta Figlerowicz. Each fellow receives a stipend to pursue independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.”

“Humanity faces some profound existential challenges. The Guggenheim Fellowship is a life-changing recognition. It’s a celebrated investment into the lives and careers of distinguished artists, scholars, scientists, writers and other cultural visionaries who are meeting these challenges head-on and generating new possibilities and pathways across the broader culture as they do so," said Edward Hirsch, president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Read more:

• Iran Israel Conflict: Pitzer College President declines full divestment from Israeli Universities
• Iran Israel Conflict: University of Michigan Students calls for Ceasefire in Gaza, Changes to policy