Major Dutch pension fund divests from Israeli company

The Electronic Intifada- The major Dutch pension fund Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), which has investments totaling 97 billion euros, has informed The Electronic Intifada that it has divested from almost all the Israeli companies in its portfolio.

...However, the pension fund was reevaluating its investments in Israeli companies. At the time, PFZW held shares in thirteen Israeli companies, including four banks, several telecommunication companies, construction companies and Elbit Systems. In November 2009, PGGM informed The Electronic Intifada that the fund would approach divestment decisions on "Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi and other [Israeli] companies" in a structural manner. This was based on a "new policy on how to deal with investments in companies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." That month, PGGM announced that PFZW was divesting from Africa-Israel for "technical reasons." Owned by Lev Leviev, Africa-Israel has been involved in the building of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Read more