Sparks fly as 'divest-from-U.S.' activist hit with reality

"If you really want to divest from the United States, why don't you just move to Cuba or Iran?"

"When you hang up, are you going to take your processor out of your computer?"

"Why don't you cancel your Facebook?"

Kevin Sabo

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"Isn't it a bit strange that you're calling for divestment from the United States government, and yet you are attending and getting benefits from the University of California, which is a government-sponsored state university?"

Those were just some of the numerous questions posed by talk-show host Aaron Klein to Kevin Sabo, board chair of the University of California Student Association. Sabo's association has been in the news for passing a resolution last week calling for financial divestment from the U.S. government while also boycotting American companies doing business with Israel.

The interview, which quickly became heated, took place Sunday night on "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio," broadcast on New York's AM 970 The Answer and Philadelphia's NewsTalk 990.

UC's student association represents all 233,000 students on the system's 10 campuses.

The "Resolution Toward Socially Responsible Investment at the University of California" passed with an overwhelming majority vote of 11-1, with three abstentions.

The resolution cites U.S. drone strikes overseas, complains about illegal aliens being held in detention centers and accuses the police and federal prison system of racial and ethnic discrimination.

It calls for UC leaders "to withdraw investments in securities, endowments, mutual funds, and other monetary instruments with holdings" in the U.S.

Klein pointed out the irony of Sabo calling for divestment from the U.S. government while attending a public university and making purchases that fuel the U.S. economy.

Stated Klein: "Pretty much anything you do in the United States, private or public, you are funding the U.S. economy. Just this phone call, eventually at the end of the day, you are going to pay a phone bill. The phone company pays taxes to the United States government. So if you really want to divest from the United States, why don't you just move to Cuba or Iran?"

Sabo shot back: "Students who have an issue with what's going on do not need to move to another country. … To say that we have to move to another country because we have an issue with public policy is preposterous."

Klein also zeroed in on a second UC resolution that singled out for divestment U.S. companies doing business with Israel.

The talk-show host asked Sabo whether he owned a personal computer, to which the student leader replied in the affirmative.

Klein explained the Intel Pentium and Celeron computer processor chips were either developed or manufactured in Israel, and the new Ivy Bridge processor was invented and is being manufactured in the Jewish state.

"When you hang up are you going to take your processor out of your computer?" asked Klein.

"I'm not going to feed into this," retorted Sabo.

Klein asked Sabo if he would cancel his Facebook account and commit on the show to never again using the social media site since many of Facebook's in-built and add-on applications are Israeli-developed.

He further noted one of Google's largest offices is located in Israel, where much of the search engine's technology was developed. Israelis also invented voicemail and the algorithm used to send and receive emails, among numerous other technological advancements.

"Are you going to commit," asked Klein, "when we hang up, first to take the processor out of your computer? Then to cancel your Facebook? To stop using Google and actually stop using your voicemail services, because actually that was invented in Israel?"

"I'm not going to entertain an asinine list of questioning," replied Sabo.

"Your boycott of the United States and Israel is asinine," Klein responded.