by Hannah Saunders
Cut Ties With Genocide, a Washington-led movement steered by Washington For Peace and Justice and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), has launched a petition demanding that the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) divest from placing holdings with companies that profit from the U.S. and Israeli-led genocide in Palestine. This new petition comes as the board denied several workers from providing public comment at its Sept. 17 meeting, who signed-up to demand that the Board invest their pensions responsibly to help create a better world.
WSIB meets every other month, limits its public comment capacity to 45 people, and manages over $230 billion in public employee pensions, which includes the Graduated Education Tuition Program, Long-Term Care, and Labor & Industries. Cut Ties With Genocide stated that WSIB is actively investing in Palantir, the GEO Group, the Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems, and others. At the same time, Cut Ties With Genocide emphasized how the Board divested $100 million from Russian companies in 2022, following its invasion of Ukraine.
Zohar Cunningham, a clinical social worker serving students at the University of Washington, noted how the youth talk about some of their greatest concerns with her.
“These concerns include parents being detained, peers losing family in Gaza, and environmental collapse. Many of these young students say things like, “I feel like I have no future,” and ask me questions, such as, “Will there be a world for me when I grow up?,’” Cunningham said.
Cunningham mentioned that she was providing public comment because the students cannot comprehend why state leaders and people in positions of power continue to spend capital in harmful ways, rather than supporting families in Washington. Each day, she said, she tells students that every single person can make choices every single day that align with their values and the futures they hope to live.
“I remind them, and myself, throughout history, people have come together to push for changes that mean the difference between life and death,” Cunningham said. “As an investment board beneficiary, I can assure you that no investment is more important than our shared future. I ask you to immediately reduce exposure in harmful stocks, such as the GEO Group, Raytheon, and Palantir.”
A member of JVP, who has been a teacher for 40 years and is receiving a TRS1 pension, a plan for public employees in the state that is managed by the WSIB, said he is appalled by what is being done with his retirement funds. He noted how Palantir utilizes targeted missile strike technology on Palestinians, and allows for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track immigrants through databases— but that WSIB has the power to adjust this, and other, investments.
“Act now to drop the immoral and risky investments that you control directly,” he said. “Do the right thing.”
A former Superior Court Judge said the community needs to hear from those who sit on the WSIB, specifically on why members refuse to choose less risky but equally as profitable options for the less than 1% of assets they manage. She even questioned how the Board is educating itself on the financial risks of investments it makes.
“My pension funds are burning Palestinian families alive,” said one school social worker, who added how they don’t want their life’s work to fund genocide, human rights abuses, and war crimes.
The next WSIB meeting is taking place on Nov. 19, and Cut Ties With Genocide told TtS that it is encouraging people to sign-up for written or oral public comment. It also said people can become involved with the efforts of encouraging WSIB to more responsibly invest pension funds by signing on to the petition, which has a total of three demands:
- Divest from assets in companies that profit from the genocide in Palestine, and the Israeli apartheid and its land occupation
- Divest from assets in both Israeli companies and bonds
- Become dedicated to not buying Israeli bonds now or in the future
Sign the petition here.
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