In 2005, a coalition of Palestinian civil society organizations issued an international call for BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), which calls for boycotting Israeli companies and institutions complicit in Israeli apartheid; divesting from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation; and imposing economic, cultural, and diplomatic sanctions on Israel until it complies with international law and principles of human rights. 

They asked the global community to maintain these non-violent punitive measures until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the wall

2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

This campaign is working on the divestment angle (the “D” in BDS), insisting that Washington state divest $2.6 billion of public Washington funds from companies directly profiting from Israeli genocide, ethnic cleansing, and the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

The Washington State Investment board is a Washington state agency that manages over $203 billion in assets consisting of over 600,000 public employee pensions, prepaid college savings accounts for tens of thousands of children, and funds held in trust that support Washington schools and universities. The agency is governed by a board consisting of:

LABOR: five representatives of pensioners, nominated by organizations representing active members of the system and appointed by the Governor. 

LEGISLATORS: One member of the state senate and one member of the house of representatives are appointed by legislature leadership. 

EXECUTIVE ‘EX OFFICIO’: Three members are appointed to the Board by virtue of positions they otherwise hold. These include the State Treasurer, the Director of Labor & Industries, and the Director of the Department of Retirement Systems. 

The Board manages over $202 billion in assets which include: 

- Over $162 billion in retirement funds that consist of public employee pensions for over 600,000 workers

-Over $1.6 billion in the Guaranteed Education Fund. This is a prepaid 529 college savings account in which people pre-pay for college by purchasing units in the fund. The funds then get invested.  

- Over $1.2 billion in Permanent Funds. These funds are made through land and property owned by Washington state and are held in trust for Washington universities and schools

- Over $19 billion in L&I, which is for workers compensation.

We worked with the American Friend Service Committee’s Investigate project to identify companies that consistently, knowingly, and directly enable or facilitate genocide, apartheid, or other war crimes and crimes against humanity. Investigate compiles a database of companies that fit these criteria and evaluates them based on three factors: salience, responsibility, and responsiveness. Companies that have severe human rights violations, have a high degree of involvement in the violation and are not responsive to stakeholder engagement are recommended for divestment.

The SIB only releases their holdings once a year with at least a six month delay. Here is a document we compiled through research and analysis, and here are numbers the SIB has given us directly through a request.