To what extent is the University of Iowa participating in Israel’s war on Gaza?
This was a question posed to me by my students as protesters across the country continue to demand the United States halt weapons shipments to Israel.
The Pentagon invests a staggering $8 billion in higher education, according to the most recent Defense Department R&D expenditure report. And while a lion’s share of this largesse goes to private research institutions like Johns Hopkins, MIT, and Stanford, more recently, public schools, such as Pennsylvania State University and the University of Texas at Austin, have secured lucrative funds for weapon systems research.
If you’re wondering about the University of Iowa, it ranks 97th on the list of funding recipients at $16 million.
But the picture is much more complicated when you consider the university’s investment holdings. The investment portfolios of private universities are often highly secretive, making it difficult for students and faculty to press their administrations to divest from companies that profiteer off conflict and genocide.
Public universities, on the other hand, must cede to open records requests and disclose this type of information. The UI owns stock in Lockheed Martin, Teledyne, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Palantir, Monsanto — acquired by Bayer — Hanwha Corp., and Raytheon.
This is just a short list.
These companies make weaponized drones, cluster bombs, depleted uranium munitions, and white phosphorus. Some of these materials are banned by more than 120 countries on Earth.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has used these weapons to decimate institutions of higher education across Gaza. Every university in the territory has been destroyed. Thousands of students and more than a hundred faculty have been killed in the attacks.
To answer my students’ question: yes, the UI is knowingly participating in the war on Gaza.
Stephen Voyce