COMMUNITY ACTION ALERT - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Divestment from Israel Panel Discussion

Posted On 10/23/09
COMMUNITY ACTION ALERT

A group calling themselves Teachers for Palestine is launching a new divestment campaign against Israel. On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, the group will be holding a panel discussion on ways campaign to convince the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) to divest from companies that are engaged with this world’s only Jewish State, Israel. We alerted you about similar plans in the past; your vocal opposition made the difference and the anti-Israel plans were defeated.

It is time to speak up once again.

The discussion will be held on:
Wednesday October 28 at 7:00 p.m.
University of Toronto - Galbraith Building, 35 St. George - Room: GB 119

Please make your voices heard at this discussion and within any other channels that could get OTPP administration and members to understand that these plans do not benefit Ontario teachers’ interests in any way, but instead seek to demonize and delegitimize the Jewish State of Israel.

Note that the UN's “Principles for Responsible Investment” referred to below in the Teachers for Palestine release do not urge boycotts such as the one proposed by this group. What the “Principles” actually say is: “The Principles suggest a policy of engagement with companies rather than screening or avoiding stocks based on ESG criteria.” UNPRI is, in fact, a private organization only loosely associated with the United Nations.

This is not about silencing Israel’s critics. Democracy and freedom of speech are essential elements to the vibrancy of our society. At the same time, it is essential that we express our concerns and add our voices to the discussion that is taking place. Anti-Israel agitators have a long history of seeking to subvert the agenda of organizations with which they are associated. It is grassroots members that can make the difference.

For more information, please contact:
Anita Bromberg at B’nai Brith Canada - 416-633-6224 X 130
abromberg@bnaibrith.ca

Please see the information below about what this panel seeks to do:
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ATTENTION TEACHERS AND EDUCATION WORKERS:
LET'S TALK ABOUT DIVESTMENT

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has investments in:
Cement Roadstone Holdings
Lockheed Martin
Siemens
MDA
Finning International

Each of these companies play a role in Israeli apartheid, from partnering with a company that produces cement used in the construction of the Apartheid Wall, to distributing Caterpillar's D9 bulldozers used to demolish Palestinian homes.

It's time for divestment. Come learn more at a panel discussion hosted by Teachers for Palestine.

Wednesday October 28 at 7 p.m.
University of Toronto - Galbraith Building, 35 St. George - Room GB 119
Child Care Provided

For more info contact: tfp@tao.ca

Background:
DIVESTMENT - WE DID IT IN 1991 - IT’S TIME TO DO IT AGAIN

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) does not, as a matter of policy, consider investment on ethical or moral principles. There was one exception: in the 1990s the Plan, under public pressure, was allowed to divest from apartheid South Africa. For at least the past 40 years in Israel-Palestine another apartheid system very similar to that of the former South Africa has been put in place by Israel. Many prominent public figures, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, U.N. Special Rapporteurs John Dugard and Richard Falk, former Israeli education minister, Shulamit Aloni, and editor of the Israeli daily Haaretz, Danny Rubenstein, have drawn the parallels.

Over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations, including the Palestinian trade union movement, have called on the world to adopt a campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, similar to that used against South Africa under apartheid. Israeli peace groups such as the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and Canadian Jewish organizations such as Not In Our Name and the Independent Jewish Voices have spoken out against Israel’s apartheid policies and human rights abuses.

In 2009 the OSSTF passed a motion demanding that the OTPP adopt the UN's “Principles for Responsible Investment”. This would require the Plan to divest from companies that are in direct violation of UN and ICC resolutions condemning Israeli Apartheid, and complicit in the violation of the human rights of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

http://www.unpri.org