Columbia-Affiliated Union Theological Seminary Votes to Divest from Israel’s War on Gaza
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As student protests around the world call for their educational institutions to divest from companies with ties to Israel, we speak to the Reverend Dr. Serene Jones, the president of Union Theological Seminary, an ecumenical seminary affiliated with Columbia University that is one of the first schools to begin divesting from companies that “profit from war in Palestine/Israel.” Jones says divestment is an extension of Union’s “long policy of trying our best to bring our values, our core mission and our conscience to bear on how we invest our money,” and credits student activists with pushing the administration to action. Jones criticizes Columbia’s decision to arrest student protesters with a “police takeover” and “violent decampment,” in contrast to Union’s approach to student political expression. “We support students learning what it means to find their voice and speak out for justice and freedom,” she says.
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now THIS is the christianity I was taught as a kid 👏🏼👏🏼
That's too bad.
Guess you don't care about all the Christians being murdered by Islamists.
Too bad.
Do you not care about all the Christians being m*rdered by M fanatics?
Dr Serene Jones speaks with absolute clarity on the position of her institution- moral, principled and not swayed by political interference. What a courageous leader. We need more of her🙏👏👏
Couldn't say it better, absolutely true.
History repeating itself.
"What a courageous leader." LOL, a nobody, risking nothing, to do essentially nothing, to feel better about herself. Yeah, real courage there.
@@srsmopar3808 You must work hard at being a soulless, cruel, cynical creature---only vaguely resembling something human.
@@srsmopar3808 In other words, you really are unaware of the pressures and politics at play in such moves, especially when affiliated with a major university system.
Free Americans from AIPAC!
And ADL and SPLC
@@GetMyselfAnewGIANT
calling Americans, america haters... LOL
Free America from Commies!
Trump will do that.
@@GetMyselfAnewGIANT cover for geno LOL
And CUFI😢
Fortunately a few schools still know right from wrong.
A few choose to let students think independently instead of using heavy handed tactics to force lock step thought control.
LOL, she should have pink or blue hair.
They’re really not. If anyone actually said the truth they’d probably be k’ll’d. I’ve never seen anyone, anywhere talk about, make a video of, or call attention to the actual truth of our world. I’ve looked for nearly two decades. It took me a long time to figure out why no one says it, was really perplexed, it’s because you’re all institutionalized, and i mean everyone in the western world, to ‘pretend’ like reality doesn’t exist. They use a bias to hide behind reality, always beginning at an arbitrary point of origin. PhDs to laymen, everybody does it. It is lunacy.
@@srsmopar3808Why?
@@srsmopar3808 Tell us more about how you are a supporter of genocide of yet another group of indigenous peoples via Western Imperialism who is to cowardly to openly own it.
Thats amazing a university behaving like a university instead of as a corporation.
Thanks for your irre-levant opi-inion Ira-nian troll.
@ot8479 These pro H-mas pro-testers re-mind us of the Na; z i s.
A victory over z!onism is a victory for humanity
@@HamzaGrygoriZ!onism = Naz!sm
@@thinkbeforeyoutype7106 Wrong. A vic-tory over Is-lam is a vic-tory for hu-manity.
The country: US
The police: IDF
Yes. And we, the US, have a secret police, a Stazi. I know this FIRST HAND 😢😳👀. We are not much different from the Israel state, as we are seeing.
The policy behaved like this long before the IDF even existed.
Free Palestine from the river to the sea
United Slaves of Israhell
@@JohnDoe-gy1hj free palestine from hamas
Columbia University: TAKE NOTES from Reverend Dr. Serene Jones of Union Theological Seminary! Very Well done Reverend Serene!!!
Om
Divestment is winning ✊ Thank you Union Theological 🎓📜
LOL!
@@srsmopar3808Si no piensas que funciona, sal de la burbuja de EEUU.
In Islam we don’t believe that a human like me and you is god , Jesus is not god , Jesus is a human just like me and you , he is a prophet of god and human just like me and you ,Allah created prophet Jesus
@@dbbrainer LOL if you feel good by seeing other people doing essentially nothing, well then good for you! LOL
@@Hassansalhi440 The Muslims believe they have the right to rule over the whole world, and they have the right to enslave or to put to death any non-believers. They have a 1300+ year history of this.
All Christians have the responsibility to speak out and act to seek for justice.
I am so proud of you Union Theological Seminary.
God bless! 🙏
Every human has the responsibility to speak out and act to seek justice.
For Hamas? Read their Charter. It's like Mein Kampf.
@@semsemeini7905shut up. 35000 civilians are killed
No..not like Hamas
Palestine deserves a real non corrupt government lol if there is one anymore but not be run by a terrorist group. Whilst recognizing Palestine is an occupied country and should be free. 100 years ago England controlled Palestine ..they gave it to Israel but I'm not sure in the history. It's complicated but I'm trying to learn
Reverend Dr. Serene Jones is a wonderful person, inclusive of all religions and people from all walks of life, and to stand on the right side of history! Imagine if presidents of institutions were like her! It's actions like hers that create real safety and peace.
Beautifully said!!❤
She is a truly compassionate, honest and a wonderful being.
LOL!
Disclose! Divest! 🪖💰💥 We will not stop 🎓 We will not rest ✊
Should be #1 on SPOTIFY! FREE PALESTINE BABY!
Amen
Voice of sanity, voice for good
LOL, a vote on essentially nothing, to change essentially nothing, to make them feel better about doing nothing.
It's complete moronic insanity to support Hamas dictatorial theocracy over freedom democracy and human rights in Israel.
Wonderful! What an example of justice, learning, thinking, by this union, a sanctuary for the students… more should join
except jews
Sounds like an institution of learning that has a moral vision. Thank you.
What's the moral vision?
Bless Rev. Dr. Serene Jones of Union Theological Seminary!
I love this! Finally, a voice for all of us Christians who are not uber conservatives like the ones we always see in the media! Thank you! And thank you to Dr. Jones & the board of Union Theological Seminary for providing a safe space on your campus for demonstrators from other universities! ❤
“Justice and freedom” are revolutionary theology gone amok. Raised as atheist, I challenge the christian churches to redefine their function of spiritual leadership. I do not support the church’s political activist direction, which is mis-labeled as humanitarian. Green Party apologism does not attract this commenter raised “red”.
@@joanr3189 I am a Jesus follower, and I cannot disagree with you. I love liturgy and occasionally go to church, but then I can no longer stomach all the lying which is endemic. These people say they believe in Jesus -- a man who spoke against privilege, status, position, money, and tribe -- and then do everything in opposition to his teachings. Why should the Union Theological Seminary have ANY investments whatsoever?
Divest and boycott! Simple!
From Turkey.
From Germany
DEFUND ISRAEL
Thank you DrJones❤❤❤
Thank you Union Theological Seminary and thank you President Jones! The movement grows and the fire within glows!
Atleast there are some universities with morals.
Apparently they think Trump won't win.... 😂
Donald Duck for President?
Respect Professor
Laugh at 'Professor'.
Proud Union alum 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 may this moral leadership continue at other institutions!
Dr Serene Jones you are beautiful soul.
DO I CONDEMN HAMAS ? Only in the same way I would condemn the French Resistance for the way they opposed their brutal occupiers! History has judged the French people as Heroes.
see Ron Paul’s address to US Congress - the group was created by Yisrahell to obstruct the two nation solution.
Amen and we the ppl are labeled terrorists by our own governments!!!
God Almighty bless and help all The Brave Peace Makers. You're Not Alone, All Humanity is with You.
This is "Western and Developing Countries' Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Democracy..!!!!!!!!!!!!
❤ much respect and admiration for you Dr. Jones. You have earned your wings. ❤️
Thank you, Reverand Jones.
STUDENTS ARE GREAT HUMAN BEINGS AND MORAL SOLDIERS.
A light shining through so much darkness 💚
Nah, more like promoting the pit of darkness and h3ll.
Bonkers, nutso, delusional people, etc.
Quite the opposite.
Very deluded people.
Wonderful Lady---very Professional and VERY 'Humane"!
Bless you and thank you for your empathy and leadership, Dr. Jones. Others across US universities and educational institutions should learn from the examples you set!
As a non US citizen (English/British) it is up lifting to listen to the dialog of Dr Jones, I must confess, I was forming the opinion that US academia had been corrupted however; it is good to see the traditions and customs of the freedoms of higher education are alive and well. I applaud you, your establishment and setting.
Yes! Many are and have been silenced💙
Wow when leadership and values come together ...wow wow
It can move mountains.
@@alin81-82 In this case, accomplish nothing but a sound bite.
Bless all the protesting students & faculty, for standing up for the truth!❤❤❤🤲🤲🤲🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸💔💔💔
Thank you.
If I was a student arrested on campus with the express permission of my university, I would sue them for millions.
...I was a first-hand eye-witness to what transpired with police presence on campus the night of April 30th at Columbia University. What a disgrace to speech and academic freedom!! The lawsuits are coming, just you wait and see!!!...
LOL, sorry, but you cant camp and campus.
@srsmopar3808 no protesting is a right. Period
@@perseuspersikus6830 sorry, but you cant camp and campus. period.
@@srsmopar3808More like a constant complaint vs a calamity with cuffs
Rise Humanity rise.
Rise up from all of the lies.
Rise up to clarity, let go of old ideology.
Humanity is one big family!
What injures you injures me.
It is time that we become free,
and trust our own guide from within and begin;
to heal Humanity as a whole,
joining each other soul to soul.
Namaste
"Humanity is one big family! " LOL both hamas and Israel don't agree with you.
Amen
FREE PALESTINE
Can someone please explain to me how Palestine will be "free"? Will it have a free government? Freedom of the press? Freedom of speech? Freedom of religion? Equal rights for women? Just a few years ago, Gaza decreed that unmarried women could not travel without the permission of a male guardian. LGBTQ rights? Homosexuality is a crime punishable by death throughout the Islamic world. You're dreaming if you think this would be any different in Palestine. Meanwhile in Israel, gay and lesbian Palestinians fleeing persecution in Gaza have been granted asylum.The only place ANYWHERE in the Middle East where these freedoms exist is Israel.
@@phinord6540So true!
@@phinord6540israel is a fascist state. Not a democracy. Stop kidding yourself. Palestine can govern itself any way it wants.
Humanity First remains to be the Path for Peace,
University admin is a joke.
It is well-worth noting that this type of divestment is *not* actually what most protesters are demanding. The very specific wording of the public statement shows that UTS is divesting only from those companies who they determine are *profiting from* the war. The demands on most campuses are to divest from companies who do business with the Israeli government. I have heard some calls for cutting ties with those profiting from the war, but the difference is pretty important (and also not important at the same time).
What UTS is doing in some ways goes further than the protesters' demand, and in other ways falls extremely short. Just to be clear, UTS's divestment is amazing, and at worst is a good compromise. But when targeting only companies who profit from the war, the financial impact is spread across multinational corporations who can all seek alternate business; compared to the protesters' demands to divest from companies who do business with the Israeli government, which would directly target the Israeli government and focus the financial burden on them, which in theory will change their choice of actions. The UTS's plan has the advantage of targeting more businesses who may be "on both sides" of the war. But in all certainty is a less effective strategy if the intended outcome is to make the Israeli government stop what they are doing.
Hopefully this is a non-partisan enough way to explain things. I am happy for the UTS's announcement, but also aware of its very specific wording and carefully selective approach. And I still think it is an overall great move in any case, so I don't mean to criticize too much.
Stop fascism against university students‼⁉❌❌❌🛑
Solidarity with the brave students.🧑🎓👨🎓♥♥♥🌹🌹🌹🍉🍉🍉
Also tell our DOJ to do their job instead of wasting our tax dollars to investigate Trump
Everyone who votes for Biden and the Democratic Party is voting for Hamas.
@@samehmikhail5039 The United Slaves of Israhell.
You do know these people are ne@ n@zi$ right? Are you ok because I'm worried about you?
Jews today; Christians tomorrow; Atheist next . Then, your music (white, European, oppressor music). Then your art and your literature. There is no end, as Konrad, JBP and others point out so eloquently.
Brava, Dr. Jones. Serene in deed.
Israel is supposed to give back the land it conquered after having been attacked in 1948 and 1967. A land that assured their security. What about Western countries who kept the land they conquered although they were the attackers?
An example: Britain and the Opium War in China in around 1840. Britain forced China to import opium. China declared opium illegal and wanted to stop the opium trade. Britain attacked China and forced it to trade opium and sign the treaty of Nanjing that gave Hong Kong to the British Empire. Hong Kong was “occupied “for 100 years.
Another example: the Rock of Gibraltar in Spain. It was captured by the British in 1794 and still belongs to Britain...
And what about France and all the colonies they kept for over 100 years, although they were also the attackers? What about some of those colonies that France still occupies? New Caledonia for example.
As for the US, they don’t occupy land, but they put puppets in South American governments and help terrorists. They installed Pinochet in Chile because Allende was caring for the people. So, please, Britain, France, and the US look at the plank you have in your eyes before trying to remove the speck from Israel’s eye, and stop saying do what I say but don’t do what I do.
Amen!
God bless the reverend.
This is what universities should be!
Exactly. 🌺. 🐦. Have a flower and a blue bird of happiness. 🇮🇪
Thank you. I hope other schools follow you. You are a role model.
excellent interview . Divest from these companies that is aiding Israel in this genoicde
Be well Amy ♥😟
Wondering person she is, so much respect 🙏 ❤
There has been a deafening silence, bordering on complicity,from Christian religious leaders over the last 7 months. Rev Munther Isaac said it best in his Christmas sermon from Bethlehem.
Many leaders including Christian leaders, have a problem with terrorism. Maybe you should tell hamas that.
I wept watching his sermon”Jesus under the rubble. I am so disappointed in the western church.
"deafening silence, bordering on complicity,from Christian religious leaders over the last 7 months" When was the last time that a Christian group wiped out 1500 Jewish civilians, or Muslim civilians?
Maybe most non-Muslim religious leaders have a big problem with 'lamic terrorism.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
"Free Palestine" from hamas
@@srsmopar3808Well said!
@srsmopar3808 are you 5? Think this is a smart reply?
@@perseuspersikus6830 "Think this is a smart reply?" LOL no I think your reply is not smart. LOL!
@@srsmopar3808 Agreed!
It's a trickle now
Soon it will be a river
Saw the same thing with south africa in the 70s and 80s
They used they same language and tatics
LOL, south africa is still a violent wasteland
Great answers from Dr Jones. This is what a true leader and true educator looks like.
How could Union Theological Seminary not vote to divest? I’m a little curious as to why it took THIS long.
My channel loves democracy now!
We need to have Michael Hudson back on to explain how money, debt and finance capital work. Even a "money market fund", for example, is essentially an investment in Sumitomo, Mitsubishi and JP Morgan. You can't control where the money goes from there.
More talk of "socially responsible" investment firms. Dr Jones speaks of how Union's investment firm does not invest the war machine. Now, Union has directed its investment firm to look closer at their portfolio to divest from companies which do business with Israel.
Free free Palestine🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🫶🫶
I'm in awe of this woman.
A seder for love, peace and inclusion. - a beautiful gesture. This genocide is happening in the Holy Land. It's time, now, to save the children of Palestine and Israel and come together in peace
This gives me so much hope. I can't even express the gratitude and relief in knowing that there are good shepherds out there that are not leading their flocks astray. This gives me so much hope that there are leaders, teachers, evangelists, pastors and administrators in the Body of Christ who stand on scriptures as their rock and foundation in these difficult days. May the Lord continue His good work through His servants as we shine brighter and brighter until the final day.
If they ever manage to get their wish on a centralized digital currency they will just flick the switch on people like this.
Due Dissidence: Arkansas Woman SMEARS Student Protesters on MSNBC
Full of respect for me. We more people like you ma'am
❤Union Thelogical Seminary❤
Iowa is a horrific state. My pension funds can not divest in Isreal companies until a state law changes. Another example....our wealth are given $7500 to subsidize the cost of private high school that the working class can not afford....
She wants students to find and use their Voice, As Long as the students say what the teachers want them to say...
I’m sure Raytheon and General Dynamics will miss all of the weapon purchases they will no longer get from the union theologic seminary.
Free Julian Assange free Humanity free Palestine 🇵🇸
I'm a neighbor and the bldg. has been sitting alone and very quitely, for ages/decades.
This gives me hope Palestine will be free. Israel can't function without money. They are an occupation not a state.
"his gives me hope Palestine will be free" yes, free from hamas.
@@srsmopar3808free from ziofascists.
that's a gigantic LIE!!!!! you're an ignorant person, study history.
Thank you, the Union Theological Seminary, keep up the good work.
Serene is a good name for you Dr. Jones
Way to go Rev. Dr. Jones! 🙌🏽 UTS New York continues to function as a moral beacon.
Bravo, UTS!!!
Salute to Reverend Dr. Serene Jones.
May the Creator of Heaven, Earth & All Bless Your Good Deeds & Patriotic Humanity to Freedom & Justice. Thank You Reverend Dr. Serene Jones.
Thank You.
Amy you're simply the best. ❤
Congratulations on😅 the theological seminar. At last we find a university that is behaving in the way that is appropriate for a higher educational establishment.
💚🦉🍉. REAL EDUCATION!
UTS isn't "affiliated" with Columbia. They share a doctoral program, but UTS is an independent institution. I'm very proud to be a UTS alumna.
Kudos and bravo for the Union Theological Seminary for supporting student protests and to divest from war profiting companies.
“Not a hard decision on our part “ Brava.
Love this theologian’s views!!
Fabulous!
I’m so impressed by this guy. Rene Lichtman is so very knowledgeable and correct in his views. During this interview he covers just about everything to do with this situation perfectly. The world of people are so insane it’s simply frightening. The so called good people are the bad people and they don’t even know it or they just don’t care.
Seeing a Christian university to do this is wild given how much the evangelical machine is sided with Israel
UTS is a liberal Christian school.
Thank you ❤❤❤
Good 👍
Does the Theological Seminary offer opposing points of view in its public and private spaces, or does it present only an activist perspective. Asking for a kid raised in communist cmp philosophy.
Wonderful, warm, action- focused role model.
We have never been a democracy, we are a constitutional republic if we can keep it!
Not 5.9999m but as the croix rouge int. stated .275m from typhus and starvation. 5.9999m needs 180m gallons of fuel and takes 43 years with 6 burners at 24/7
The only sanity I have heard on the topic.. If you don’t like South Africa’s apartheid state, you likely don’t care for Israel’s. Well done.
Union is selling there headquarters and will soon be gone
Thank you!
President Jones--if only there were more like you we would have a fairer future for all. Kudos
Divest from Israel before October 7 will be called anti semite 😂 now it called peaceful revolution 😂
Good on you, Serene Jones. We need more leaders like you.
What kind of ‘supporters’ they are if they get paid for this vandalism.
It would be appropriate to demand divestment in any aspect of the military industrial complex, at its roots, not to "only" demand of divestment in one "war". USA had at least one mass murder a day in their own country last year. It's not only war, it is any military and arms dealing that is the problem. USA has just erased the first amendment when it ought to eradicate the second.