The pension investment fund for the United Methodist Church has divested from five Israeli banks, in keeping with its 2015 decision to use human rights guidelines for investment.
The five banks are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot.
From a United Methodist Kairos Response press release:
These banks are deeply involved in financing illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi were removed from the portfolios. The fund manager, known as Wespath, also divested from Shikun & Binui, an Israeli company involved with construction in the illegal settlements beyond Israel’s recognized borders. In addition, Wespath has placed Israel/Palestine on a list of regions where human rights violations occur.
The divestment amounts to only $3 million dollars, and the fund remains invested in approximately 18 Israeli companies that meet its investment criteria.
However, somewhat embarrassingly I suppose, the Human Rights Guidelines puts Israel/Palestine in the same company as
- Central African Republic
- Eritrea
- Equatorial Guinea
- Israel-Palestinian Territories
- Morocco-Western Sahara
- North Korea
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- Sudan
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Turkey-Northern Cyprus
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
See the criteria here: www.wespath.com/...
More info on the divestment:www.unitedmethodistdivestment.com
Drip, drip, drip….