The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the implementation of Israeli apartheid began over seventy years ago, and has included the construction of illegal settlements in violation of international law, the erection of a separation wall that has restricted movement for Palestinians and cut them off from one another, and an eighteen year siege on Gaza, the world’s largest open air prison.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli government has escalated its violence, resulting in what the International Court of Justice has called a plausible genocide. At least 84,000 Palestinians have been murdered (likely a vast undercount).
Since breaking the ceasefire agreement in March of 2025, the Israeli military has taken control of more than 75 percent of Gaza, trapping more than 2 million people into smaller and smaller areas of the decimated territory. There, the Israeli government is enforcing a policy of total starvation, barring even baby formula from entering Gaza. Hundreds have already starved to death. Massacres of Palestinians waiting for food aid have become a daily occurrence; the Israeli military has now killed over a thousand people at U.S.-backed food distribution sites.
WHY DIVEST
Context of the Genocide
RISKS TO WASHINGTONIANS
Reducing exposure to companies that are complicit in these atrocities is not just a moral decision; it is also a financial decision. The fiduciary duty to steward pension funds should look at the risks for the funds over the next fifty years at at a minimum. The short term return on weapons and other companies who are complicit in genocide does not outweigh the serious risks involved in this long term investment. The WSIB is taking a major risk that could result in future losses.
Risks of investing in these companies include:
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In the future, many of these companies may be held accountable in the international sphere
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The WSIB is in violation of International law by maintaining investments in companies complicit in genocide and illegal occupation.
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An increasing number of people are becoming outraged by the actions of these companies and may refuse to buy their products or invest in them.
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Every day more governments, pension funds, and everyday investors are choosing to withdraw their money from these companies.
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Investing in weapons and technology companies fueling this genocide results in further global instability, which threatens economies and increases the likelihood of lower returns in the future.
Residents across the country have demanded that their states divest from genocide—and they have won.
DIVESTMENT PRECEDENTS
In the 1970s, people of conscience around the world grew increasingly horrified by apartheid in South Africa, which brutally oppressed 22,095,000 Black South Africans. Activists took action, demanding their governments and schools divest from apartheid. This financial pressure contributed to the end of apartheid in South Africa.
While obligated to maximize its returns, the WSIB has a duty to account for material risk factors, including environmental and social impacts.
The legislature and governor hold the power to direct the WSIB’s investment policy. The legislature can pass laws to change its holdings, and the governor can sign executive orders to do so. In fact, Governor Inslee exercised this initiative when Russia invaded Ukraine, signing an executive order directing the WSIB to divest all assets from the Russian government. Inslee’s move prompted the WSIB to issue a statement committing to complete divestment one day later, and subsequently divested $100 million from Russia with remarkable speed.
