Chicago educators host panel on divestment from Israel

Chicago, IL – On August 4, a crowd packed Pilsen Community Books for a teach-in led by Educators for Palestine. Organizations from across Chicago presented their campaigns for immediate divestment from Israel. The teach-in was aimed at Chicago teachers, who have 1.8% of their pension funds invested in companies listed in the boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) list.

Members of Educators for Palestine shared that the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund (CTPF) invests $132 million in weapons manufacturers, $46 million in tech and software, and $20 million in oil and gas companies. CTPF also holds $1.6 million in Israel Bonds that provide Israel with unrestricted funding to use for military expenditures and settlements. They urged educators to attend CTPF meetings and demand immediate divestment. Some attended the CTPF meeting downtown the next morning to bring the demand to board members.

From a moral and financial standpoint, it’s clear that investing in Israel Bonds is the wrong decision. Noura Ebrahim, a leader of BDS – Chicago, a project of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), explained why it’s also a bad financial investment.

“Israel is actively committing a genocide in Gaza, its economy is in freefall, its credit rating has been downgraded significantly, and it faces growing global isolation,” Ebrahim said while teaching attendees about the statewide Divest Illinois From Genocide campaign, which is co led by BDS Chicago and the Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC). The campaign calls on State Treasurer Michael Frerichs to divest from Israel Bonds and the Illinois State Board of Investments (ISBI) to divest from companies complicit in the genocide and occupation of Palestine.

“As Illinois taxpayers, and as educators, and as community members, we should not be forced to have our money tied to genocide,” Ebrahim concluded while urging people to rally at the next quarterly ISBI meeting on September 19.

Attendees learned about the campaign to boycott Teva, the world’s largest generic pharmaceutical company. Teva is a major factor in the genocide, as it provides millions of dollars in tax revenue that boosts Israel’s economy and funds the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Presenters urged listeners to call their pharmacies and say they refuse to take Teva medication if there is another option. Healthcare professionals are required to record this refusal in patients’ charts and abide by it to the best of their ability. They also recommended switching to an independent pharmacy, which typically has more control over what brands it carries.

The final presentation was from Mask off Maersk, a campaign demanding an end to the shipping and manufacturing of weapons for Israel. Maersk is the world’s second-largest logistics company, and some of those profits can be attributed to the destruction of Gaza.

Members of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) explained that Maersk has transported millions of pounds of military cargo into Israel from the U.S., including the F-35 fighter jets which drop bombs on Gaza. They encouraged people to research and disrupt the supply chain of arms to Israel.

Each presentation had a different focus, but one clear message rang through every speaker – the people of Illinois do not want their money tied to genocide. The event ended with breakout groups, with members of each organization answering additional questions regarding their campaign and ways to get involved.

To support the campaign to divest Illinois from genocide, sign-on here as an individual, here as an organization, and here as a state worker.

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