World

Divestment Turns

Legislature considers anti-terrorism divestment package.

Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News

ping terrorism and protecting public tax
dollars!'
Young's Resolution 130 requests
rotecting pension funds
Michigan's public universities
and applying economic
to adopt policies to prohibit
pressure to American
investment in nations identified
enemies and genocidal regimes is
by the U.S. State Department as
behind bipartisan bills introduced
state sponsors of terrorism. The
June 7 in the Michigan House of
Michigan Supreme Court has
Representatives.
ruled that the state Legislature
The package of two bills and
does not have the authority to
Knollen berg
one resolution targeting invest-
control university investment
ment in Iran, Syria, North Korea
decisions.
and Sudan makes Michigan
"The money sent to these
the 30th state to consider "ter-
countries is being used to harm
ror-free investing!' Bills intro-
Americans;' said Young. "This is
duced by State Representatives
a matter of national security and
Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy, and
safety for the citizens of Michigan.
Aldo Vagnozzi, D-Farmington/
By cutting their financial resourc-
Farmington Hills, and a resolu-
es, we are hitting them where it
tion by Coleman Young II, D-
hurts most!'
Vagnoz zi
Detroit, comprise the package.
The Knollenberg proposal had
Knollenberg's HB 4903 would
63 co-sponsors and the other
amend the Public Employee
two pieces had 62, out of a total
Retirement System Investment
of 110 House members. Oakland
Act to direct the state's pension
County supporters included Reps.
funds to make no new invest-
David Law, R-Commerce Twp.,
ments in companies doing
Andy Meisner, D-Ferndale, John
business in a state sponsor of
Garfield, R-Rochester Hills, Chuck
terrorism. It would order the
Moss, R-Birmingham, and Tim
divestment of all funds from
Melton, D-Pontiac.
such companies within five years Young II
The initial challenge is to
according to a graduated scale,
get the bills a hearing, given
starting with 40 percent divest-
Michigan's budget crisis. It will
ment after two years.
also take time to work with state Treasury
"There is very little public awareness of
Department and pension fund managers
where tax dollars and pension funds are
to identify the financial impact of the bills.
actually being spent," said Knollenberg."It Other states have seen broad legislation
is unacceptable for our money to be used
like this whittled down to just include Iran
as a tool to promote terrorism and geno-
and Sudan, or just Iran, and the compa-
cide around the world, especially in invest- nies impacted reduced to 19 major foreign
ments which the Securities and Exchange
companies in the energy sector.
Commission considers to be high risk. The
But notwithstanding the challenges,
intent of this legislation is to guarantee
divestment legislation is gaining across
that our money is being spent wisely and
the country. Last week, in a rare show of
effectively"
broad bipartisan support, the California
Vagnozzi's HB 4904 prohibits investing
Assembly unanimously sent an Iran
state surpluses in financial institutions
divestment bill to the state Senate.
that have more than $10 million invested
Missouri's state treasurer is imple-
in state sponsors of terrorism.
menting a broad divestment program;
"We should learn from history that you
the governor of Florida is poised to sign
can't ignore genocide and the Holocaust:'
legislation divesting from Iran and Sudan
said Vagnozzi. "This package is about
and the Ohio Senate is scheduled to vote
preserving the value of human life, stop-
on similar legislation this week. Five other

p

states have already enacted divestment
measures, as well as several California
universities and Ivy League schools.
At the federal level, lawmakers have
introduced similar bills to encourage
divestment, most recently from Iran.
U.S. senators and presidential candi-
dates Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sam
Brownback, R-Kan., have introduced bills
to authorize state governments to divest
as well as to provide legal protection for
doing so. Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass.,
and Tom Lantos, D-Cal., have done the
same in the U.S. House.
Christopher Holton, director of
the Divest Terror Initiative for the
Washington-based Center for Security
Policy, says Michigan's effort is important.
"I'd put Michigan on the scale of impor-
tance up there with California," Holton
said. "Michigan would be a precedent-set-
ting and an ice-breaker for the rest of the
nation" because of the size of Michigan's
pension system and the broad nature of
the proposed legislation. His center esti-
mates that billions of Michigan pension
dollars are invested the countries targeted
by the legislation.
Holton says Arab-American organiza-
tions have not opposed the efforts and,
in fact, the Iranian expatriate community
played a key role in California.
Holton says the effort is getting easier
because of the responsiveness of financial
institutions.
While initially states would say they
couldn't find investment avenues that
complied with divestment requests, Holton
says banks are developing ways to provide
what states are looking for in order to keep
and attract business.
Knollenberg says more research will
be done and he is open to compromise as
long as Michigan citizens are protected.
He has already met with representatives of
state Treasurer Robert Kleine, whose office
was not ready to comment. The Treasury
Department has begun to review the
impact of proposals to divest funds relat-
ing to Sudan, which was introduced two
weeks ago.
Susan Herman, director of the Michigan
Jewish Conference, the Michigan Jewish
community's lobbyist in Lansing, says she

will recommend the conference support
the proposed legislation.
Pro-Israel groups like the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee and
StandWithUs have encouraged divest-
ment efforts aimed at Iran and Syria.
Mark Segal of West Bloomfield invited
Knollenberg to speak following the Detroit
Jewish community's Walk for Israel in
May, and has been pushing the issue at
programs he's organized.
"Confronting Iran economically allows
individual citizens to take part in fight-
ing Islamofascism," Segal says, citing the
success of the divestment effort against
apartheid South Africa. "People want to do
something and this allows them to do so:'
Segal is not worried that supporting
the principle of divestment can give life
to efforts to divest funds from companies
doing business in Israel, as many anti-
Israel groups, particularly on college cam-
puses, have proposed.
"Divestment, in principle, is a worthy
tool when used for the right reasons. Using
it against Israel is wrong:' he says. "The
vast majority of Americans understand
there is no reason to punish Israel. Israel is
a victim, not a criminal." I 1

Answering
Israel's Critics

The Charge
Israel's critics came out of the wood-
work last week during the 40th anni-
versary of the Six-Day War to claim
that peace will only be possible when
the "occupation" of the West Bank ends.

The Answer
Israel has already given civilian control
of more than 90 percent of the West
Bank population to Palestinian leader-
ship and has withdrawn from territory
there twice the size of Gaza. It is the
violent actions of the Palestinians, not
Israel, that prevents more peace moves.

— Allan Gale, Jewish Community Relations

Council of Metropolitan Detroit

©copyright June 14, 2007, Jewish Renaissance Media

June 14 * 2007

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