A LOCAL government pension fund has said it will look “as soon as possible” at divesting £22 million which campaigners have warned is invested in companies profiting from breaches of international law in Palestine.
The announcement was made after protesters gathered outside a meeting of the fund committee in Keynsham.
A total of 140,000 people from more than 450 employers have paid into the £6 billion Avon Pension Fund, which administers the local government pension scheme for the former county of Avon.
But campaigners have warned that £10m of this money is funding arms companies producing weapons being used by Israel in Gaza, and a further £12m is invested in companies profiting from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Now the committee which runs the pension fund has said it has listened to people’s concerns and is already working to determine what action it takes.
Head of pensions Nick Dixon said: “That work is going to take a few weeks, and we would propose that this committee considers the work and comes back as soon as possible in the new year to discuss it properly and reach a final decision.”
He was speaking at a meeting of the Avon Pension Fund Committee in Keynsham on December 13.
Palestinian solidarity campaigners from Bath to Clevedon unfurled their banners outside the meeting, which was taking place in the large meeting room above the library at Keynsham Civic Centre.
Inside the meeting, seven campaigners addressed the committee as public speakers.
Dr Eldin Fahmy said: “Avon Pension Fund is funnelling taxpayers’ money into companies aiding or profiting from very serious breaches of international law.”
He added: “This is not just a political choice. It is a matter of good governance for the fund.”
Jane Samson listed General Dynamics, Northrupp Gruman, BAE Systems, and Boeing as arms companies the fund had invested in which she warned were manufacturing weapons being used by Israel in Gaza.
Fay Pafford said she was in contact with a medical student in Gaza, Said, for whom she had run a GoFundMe to help him continue his studies online after his university was bombed.
She said: “He puts his life at risk every time he walks from his home to the hospital as Israeli drones regularly shoot and kill people walking in the street.”
One of those who sits on the committee is Joanna Wright (Lambridge, Green), the councillor who led Bath and North East Somerset Council to pass a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a joint statement with Bristol City Council’s representative on the committee, Fi Hance (Redland, Green), the two Green councillors said they were doing all they could to investigate how to divest from companies linked to the “ongoing genocide.”
But they warned that divesting may not be simple. Rather than having directly purchased shares in arms companies, the Avon Pension Fund’s investments are part of a passive equity pool, a financial product splitting money across thousands of companies, which the pension fund chose to invest in because of its climate credentials.
Avon Pension Fund chose the pool because it is aligned with the 2015 Paris agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Ms Wright and Ms Hance said: “There are currently no products that are Paris-agreement-aligned and exclude aerospace and defence.
“We will continue to look over all options and work with campaigners, other local authorities and the APF to do whatever we can to make sure our investments are aligned with our values and in solidarity with the people of Gaza .”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service
Keynsham protest over pension fund’s weapons link
