The move follows months of campaigning.
On January 22, Tower Hamlets Council voted to divest its pension fund from companies that supply arms to Israel.
The decision follows months of campaigning led by the Tower Hamlets Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), alongside the Tower Hamlets Coalition for Ethical Investment, which includes PSC, Tower Hamlets Unison, and Tower Hamlets Trades Council.
PSC has long called for local councils to divest from companies it describes as “complicit in Israel’s genocide, military occupation, and apartheid” against Palestinians.
Lewis Backon, PSC’s campaigns officer, hailed the decision as a “significant victory, as another council recognises its profound moral and legal duty not to be complicit in Israel’s genocide, military Occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.”
Backon is urging all councils to follow suit and commit to divesting from “all companies enabling Israel’s crimes as quickly as possible.”
Kerie Anne, branch secretary of Tower Hamlets Unison, said it was “no surprise” that those working in local government and education services would reject having their pension funds invested in companies linked to “death, destruction, and mutilation.”
The move by Tower Hamlets follows similar decisions by other councils, including Bristol City Council, which recently voted to call on Avon Pension Fund to divest from companies supplying weapons to Israel.
Noting that their campaign is gaining momentum, PSC is urging for pressure to be maintained on all local councils to end their financial ties to companies “enabling Israel’s abuses of Palestinian rights.”
The group is calling on people to write to their councillors and demand they support the divestment of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
PSC research has found that LGPS funds, which are managed by local councils across the UK, collectively invest over £4.6 billion ($5.7 billion) in companies that are involved in Israel’s war crimes and violations of international law.
Image credit: PSC X screen grab
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