As part of an ongoing effort to push the University to take a position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a group of faculty has drafted a letter calling for the University to form a committee to investigate possible divestment from companies that do business with Israel.

Last spring, the student governments at the University's Flint and Dearborn campuses passed resolutions encouraging the establishment of an advisory committee, while the Michigan Student Assembly voted against the creation of a committee.

The current letter of support - drafted by an ad hoc group of Dearborn and Ann Arbor faculty - is the result of ongoing concern over the University's investments in firms that do business with Israel, said William Thomson, emeritus associate professor of psychology at Dearborn.

"Many of us are very concerned with what is going on in Israel and Palestine and the human rights abuses that have been going on in occupied territories for decades," Thomson said. "My concern is to bring it to the University community to form a committee."

University policy dictates that it must investigate any investments that raise "serious ethical or moral questions." According to the faculty letter, the University's investments in corporations that supply military aid to Israel - including General Electric and United Technologies - and the human rights violations stemming from Israel's 38-year presence in the occupied territories warrant such an investigation.

While the letter concedes that human rights concerns are not limited to Israel, it also argues that no other human rights violations are directly supported by corporations in which the University holds stock.

"No other (conflict) is as likely to be affected by our actions. The situation in Israel (and) Palestine is uniquely significant," the letter says.

Although the University's 1978 policy outlines the procedure for dealing with "serious ethical or moral questions," it leaves the standard for divestment open to interpretation.

University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said the goal of the University's investments is to maximize financial returns to support University operations. As a result, she said, investments should not be based on political or philosophical concerns but on how much revenue they generate.

"It is very rare for the University to convene a committee," she said. "The bar for these types of decisions is set very high."

The University has only formed a committee to investigate its investments twice - in 1978 concerning South African apartheid and in 2000 regarding tobacco firms. In both instances, the University ultimately divested.

Peterson said certain standards must be met for the University to consider forming an advisory committee.

"There does need to be some clear indication that (divestment from Israel) is a broadly held view of the campus over time," Peterson said. "The University community is very divided on this issue, and I would not agree with the assertion that it is the broadly held view of our campus."

Peterson added that University President Mary Sue Coleman, administrators and members of the University's Board of Regents decide whether these standards are met. Coleman has said in the past that she doesn't support divestment from Israel because the situation does not meet these standards.

Presentation of the letter to Coleman and the regents, initially planned for Nov. 15, is likely to be postponed until winter term, said David Skrbina, a Dearborn philosophy lecturer.

Skrbina said that while the names and number of signatories will remain confidential until the letter is released, roughly one-third of them are at the Dearborn campus and two-thirds work in Ann Arbor. In addition, the faculty coordinating the project will continue to collect signatures until the letter is delivered, he said.

"We are at a very early stage in the process," Thomson said. "And until we know what the administration wants and needs, we're not going to put a deadline on the letter. The issue is too important."

Rama Salhi, president of the pro-divestment group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, said she hopes the letter will lead the University to recognize that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an important issue.

"What the faculty and staff say and do seem to hold more weight than what students say and do," she said. "And one of the many excuses from the administration is that there isn't enough faculty or staff participating. This (letter) will address that."

But Or Shotan, chair of the Israeli Students Organization, said the letter could be misleading in creating an impression of widespread support for divestment among faculty.

"I'm sure there are more faculty (who don't) support divestment," he said.