The city council of Richmond, California voted to divest from companies doing business in Israel. The vote, held on Tuesday, was 5-1.
The resolution approved by the city council reads: "This restriction it is the city policy not to invest in a predetermined list of companies and their subsidiaries that are involved in Israel's violation of Palestinian rights."
The move comes as protesters on campuses across the U.S. are calling for universities to divest from Israel and from companies that assist in the war effort in Gaza.
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Protesters on the campus of University of California, Berkeley call for divestment from Israel
(Photo: EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO)
Richmond has an investment pool of $600 million. Around 7% is invested in portfolios that include companies the city will divest from such as the arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, Microsoft and Airbnb.
Richmond was first city in the United States to condemn Israel after it launched its war on Hamas in Gaza, accusing Israel in a cease-fire resolution passed on October 25 of the “ethnic cleansing and collective punishment” that led to the October 7th attack.
The October 25 resolution announcing support for the Palestinian people called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the safe passage of substantial humanitarian aid to Gaza." The city council declared that “the state of Israel is engaging in collective punishment” that “is considered a war crime under international law.”
The city also called to “end Israeli Apartheid, the occupation and obstruction of Palestinian lands by Israeli army forces.” The resolution, signed as crowds in attendance shouted “Free, Free Palestine”, declared that the city opposes the “enormous military aid provided by the United States every year, hereby also depriving Americans of money for their own urgent needs.”
To nonetheless express its support for the city’s small Jewish community, the resolution recognized the “historical memory of the Holocaust”, further noting that “Never Again… means fighting ethnic cleansing and apartheid everywhere.”
Richmond is the second city in the United States to approve a divestment measure; after Hayward, also a city in California.
The Hayward City Council voted 4-3 in late January to remove four companies linked to Israel from the City’s investment portfolio. The companies, none of which are based in Israel, are: Intel, Chevron and Caterpillar are U.S. companies. Hyundai is South Korean.
"The action was neither an endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, nor did it direct staff to align City investment policy with BDS guidance," read a statement issued by the Hayward city council on January 23.