The world's third largest pension fund ABP on Thursday rejected calls from pro-Palestinian activists, including South Africa's former Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to divest from three Israeli banks which campaigners accuse of financially aiding in the 'occupation' of the West Bank.
The petition site Avaaz had called on ABP, the Dutch public employees' pension fund, to divest from Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, in which it has holdings totaling about €51 million (US$ 67 million). Tutu, one of the champions of South Africa's struggle for democracy, said in a letter to the fund's board that the investments helped enable the expansion of Israeli settlements.
ABP said its board had decided not to change its ethical investment policy, which only bans investments in companies that violate the UN Global Compact, an international ethical investment yardstick, as well as companies that make cluster bombs or land mines.
The pension fund, which had US$ 408 billion in assets invested worldwide at the end of 2013 and nearly three million members in the Netherlands, said it had also received letters from activists urging it to remain invested in the three banks. "There are calls in favor of, as well as against, divesting from the Israeli banks," ABP said in a statement. "The fund takes all signals very seriously and understands the unrest and the emotions that are caused by the conflict in Gaza."
ABP spokeswoman Jos van Dijk said on Wednesday that, while the United Nations had criticized Israel's settlements, the world body had not accused the Israeli banks of breaking international law. In January, PGGM, another Dutch pension fund, decided to pull its investments from five Israeli banks, including the three singled out by Avaaz.
