Columbia University’s student workers’ union drops its request for the university to divest from Israel, according to reports from multiple outlets. The decision is described as occurring at the bargaining table during a Tuesday meeting, where union officials withdraw the divestment demand they had previously raised. The change is reported alongside the university’s plan to open a new Israel-focused program, which one account frames as part of the broader context for the union’s shift in position.
In reporting on the move, outlets characterize the withdrawal as a setback for students and organizers who had pushed for divestment. One account quotes a union group leader acknowledging that the union must “face the realities,” indicating recognition of the limits of the divestment effort within the university’s bargaining process.
The reports agree that the union’s stance changes specifically with respect to divestment from Israel, and that the withdrawal happens during formal negotiations. The sources do not indicate that the broader political debate at Columbia ends, only that this particular bargaining demand is no longer pursued.
