Court Quashes Seattle Ballot Initiative on Israel Divestment

[oberliner]

Los Angeles — Activists pushing for investors to pull their money out of Israel were dealt a significant blow in recent days when a Washington state judge struck down a proposed ballot initiative that could have made Seattle the first major American city to adopt a divestment policy.

On September 10, Washington Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez ruled that the proposed ballot initiative — for which nearly 18,000 signatures had been collected — was invalid. The initiative, known as I-97, sought to divest city pension funds from corporations that assist in the American military presence in Iraq, or that “provide direct material support for activities of the Israeli government within the occupied and besieged territories of West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights” or have “a presence… in Israeli settlements” in these areas.

The Seattle court decision is the latest victory for Jewish activists fighting to beat back Israel divestment measures. In recent years, battles over divestment have raged in the mainline Protestant churches, and Jewish groups have successfully blocked divestment resolutions in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Methodist Church. Seattle Jewish activists hailed the court ruling as an important step in stemming the tide of divestment activists.

http://www.forward.com/articles/14201/