Let us remember the last time students occupied Columbia University | Omar Barghouti, Tanaquil Jones, and Barbara Ransby

In 1985, Columbia students occupied campus to push for divestment from South Africa. Five months later, the university cut ties to the apartheid regime after years of dragging its feet

As three former 1980s student leaders at Columbia University, we applaud the courage and conviction of Palestine solidarity student activists in the eye of the storm. Despite the recent arrest of more than 100 protesters, they insist: Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!"

We defend their right to protest and affirm the righteousness of their demands: an end to Israel's genocidal war against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and to the complicity of the US government and institutions in its apartheid and ethnic cleansing. The International Court of Justice's recent ruling that Israel is plausibly committing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians makes divestment a legal, not just ethical, obligation.