For UCLA student gov’t candidates, free trips to Israel are out

Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Several candidates running for officers of the undergraduate student government at UCLA signed a pledge not to go on free or sponsored trips to Israel.

The hopefuls on two of the three slates signed the Joint Statement on Undergraduate Students Association Council Ethics, which asks council members to refrain from taking free or sponsored trips with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League or Hasbara Fellowships, the Daily Bruin student newspaper reported earlier this week.

The statement was drafted by members of Jewish Voice for Peace, the Armenian Students’ Association and Students for Justice in Palestine.

In February, the undergraduate student government at the University of California, Los Angeles, rejected a resolution brought by Students for Justice in Palestine calling for divestment from five American companies whose products are used by the Israeli army in the West Bank. The 7-5 vote followed an all-night meeting.

Four Bruins United council members who were vocal in opposing the resolution had gone on free or sponsored trips to Israel or attended AIPAC conferences, according to the Daily Bruin.

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