The Oberlin College student senate has agreed to a resolution May 5, which urges officials to divest fully from six companies that do business at the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories such as West Bank, eastern Jerusalem and Gaza.

Determined to provide justice for Palestinian people, the resolution, which was endorsed by the 'Students for a Free Palestine' (SFP) group, was supported by a majority of the student senate members.

The Students for a Free Palestine, an anti-Israel student group, will present the resolution in front of the Oberlin College Board of Trustees' Finance Committee in the next semester for their final approval.

This resolution is in accordance with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which is taking place on a national level.

Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, Group 4 Securicor, SodaStream, Elbit Systems and Veolia are the six companies that are criticized by the SFP.

Among these companies, Caterpillar provides tools and bulldozers that are used to expand the illegal settlements, build the separation wall, and demolish Palestinian homes.

"These six companies represent a wide range of injustices perpetrated on the Palestinian people by Israel," a news release said. "By endorsing the resolution, Oberlin College will join a growing global movement for justice in Israel/Palestine."

Scott Wargo, the college's director of media relations, said that students would obviously like to see the college's endowments and investments spent efficiently, and they have expressed their concerns through this proposal. The resolution will be given due attention, he added.

Nina Sundell, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that the resolution is non-binding, so the college administration is not forced to make a financial decision on it.

Meanwhile however, some groups of students feel that this does not represent a significant cause.

Rabbi Shimon Brand, Jewish chaplain and director of Hillel at the college, said that the student senate is a minor organization on campus, and it is not 100 percent aware about Israel and its businesses.

Sundell also said that such campaigns result in deepening the disagreement between both parties, pushing the entire blame on the Israelites without understanding the conflict from both sides.

In addition, it can also convert a positive campus environment into a narrow, unfriendly and hostile environment.

Similar resolutions have been passed in recent times at U.C. campuses in Berkeley, Irvine, Riverside, Santa Barbara and San Diego.