UC Regents urged to divest from defense contractors over Israel-Palestine violence

Students, staff and alumni addressed the University of California Board of Regents during the public comment period, urging the system to divest investments in companies they said profit from violence in Gaza.

Fatima Konwar, a student at UC Berkeley, told the regents: “we have watched this this horrific genocide taking place against the Palestinian people and the UC has chosen to do nothing rather to be complicit in this through their investments.” Her remarks were echoed by students and staff from multiple campuses who said existing channels for redress had been exhausted and called for immediate action.

The requests invoked historical precedent and moral arguments. Molly Shepherd, a frontline fundraiser at Berkeley Haas, said her work “directly contributes to our growing endowment” and urged the regents to “think deeper than your pockets and begin the path forward to divestment.” Cole Salton, a second‑year law student at UC Berkeley, compared the moment to earlier campaigns and said, “spare us the waiting and get it done now, be on the right side of history.” Stephen Kosenza, a UC Law SF student, summarized the tone of multiple speakers: “The time is right for action. Please do so.”

Speakers specifically named companies including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Caterpillar as investment targets. Commenters also drew parallels to the UC’s past divestment from apartheid South Africa and from fossil fuels, saying those precedents should guide current decisions.

All remarks on investment strategy were made during the meeting’s public comment period; no board votes or formal responses on divestment were recorded in the public comment segment of the transcript. The public comment period then moved on to other topics raised by students and staff across the system.