Pressure works: banks and companies stop supporting Israeli war crimes

11.11.11 has been campaigning for years, together with Palestinian and European organizations, to tackle the financial involvement of banks and companies in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Together we put pressure on these financial institutions and companies to stop their investments. With success! 

Together with our partners in the Don't Buy Into Occupation (DBIO) coalition, we have been publishing an annual report since 2021 to map the financial relationships with the Israeli settlement industry. In our latest report In December 2023 we revealed how European banks and pension funds invest hundreds of billions of dollars in companies involved in the illegal Israeli settlement industryThe money of Belgian savers and investors also flows to these companies, including arms suppliers to the Israeli army.

Through targeted research and campaigns, 11.11.11 together with the coalition various financial institutions and companies can convince them to withdraw their support for these companies. Several of them are already making the right, human choices. An overview: 

January 2024: Danish pension fund stops investing in thirteen companies linked to illegal settlements

Danish pension fund AkademikerPension announces it is ending its investments in six banks, four construction companies and three telecommunications companies due to their ties to Israeli settlements. These activities, the pension institution says, have systematically negative consequences for the human rights of Palestinians.

And they are not alone. Throughout 2024, several Danish pension funds announced they would stop investing in Israeli banks. Pension funds such as Velliv, P+, Industriens Pension and PKA divested from banks involved in financing settlements and infrastructure in the occupied Palestinian territory. These funds stressed that Israeli settlements violate UN guidelines and that their involvement is incompatible with the funds’ ethical principles.

April 2024: Irish Investment Fund pulls money from six Israeli companies

The Irish Strategic Investment Fund has announced that it is divesting from six Israeli companies, including the largest Israeli banks (Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank and First International Bank) and supermarket chain Rami Levy, for their involvement in activities in Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law.

May 2024: Norwegian asset manager excludes companies from investment portfolio

Storebrand, Norway's second-largest asset manager, has decided to remove CAF and IBM from its investment portfolio. CAF is involved in the expansion of the Jerusalem Light Rail, which connects illegal settlements in East Jerusalem to Israel.  

Regarding IBM, Storebrand stated that the database the company manages contributes to dividing Palestinian society, by restricting their participation in the political system, where they can live, work and travel, and their access to government services, among other things.  

August 2024: AXA divests from three Israeli banks involved in occupation

French bank AXA has decided to cut off its loans to three Israeli banks – Bank Hapoalim, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Leumi – which are on the UN database of companies involved in the illegal occupation of Palestine. AXA’s divestment underscores growing concerns about Israeli financial institutions’ violations of international law.

The series of divestments from companies and financial institutions since late 2023 is a major step forward in the global push to cut ties with companies involved in Israeli settlements.  

But our struggle does not stop. Belgian banks, such as BNP Paribas, KBC, Belfius, and many more (financial) institutions, also continue to invest billions in companies involved in Israeli war crimes. 11.11.11 continues to put pressure on them to take the same responsibility as the above-mentioned companies.