Sheffield Palestine campaigners call for council pensions scheme to divest from Israel and arms firms

South Yorkshire Pension Divest for Palestine has accused the pensions authority of being complicit in Israeli forces killing and injuring thousands of people in Palestine and causing widespread destruction in Gaza because of the way its funds are invested. The campaign is linked to Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and Rotherham Friends of Palestine.

The issue was raised by Green councillors at the Sheffield City Council full council meeting on Wednesday (February 5). The council adopted an amended version of the Greens’ motion, which speaks about solidarity with the Palestinian people and calls for ethical investment by pension funds.

Members of the campaign asked questions and spoke in support of the Green motion from the public gallery.

The pensions authority, based in Barnsley, manages the pensions for 180,000 local authority workers in the South Yorkshire region.

Currently chaired by Sheffield councillor and Lord Mayor Jayne Dunn, the authority has a membership of 12 councillors from each of the four South Yorkshire local authorities, plus three non-voting trade union representatives. It holds five meetings a year.

Accountable

The authority’s annual report for 2024 says: “The authority is unique amongst the administering authorities in the LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme) in that it is the only democratically accountable, free-standing pensions organisation in the UK.

“While a small number of other administering authorities are not councils, their ‘boards’ include appointed experts rather than being entirely made up of councillors.”

The majority of members’ money is invested in the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd, which is based in Leeds. This is a pensions pool that manages Local Government Pensions Scheme funds on behalf of 1.1 million scheme members and 3,100 employers, managing assets totalling £64bn, according to its 2023-4 annual report.

Border to Coast’s responsible investment policy states that it will not invest in organisations where “there is evidence of manufacturing whole weapons systems and components that were developed, or are significantly modified, for exclusive use in controversial weapons covering landmines, biological, and chemical weapons.

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“This covers international treaties and conventions that the UK has either ratified or to which it is a state party.”

The campaign highlights pensions authority and Border to Coast investments including the following:

• BAE systems, Britain’s largest arms producer, which produces fighter aircraft, warships, tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, missiles and small arms ammunition. A leaflet for the campaign points out: “With Lockheed Martin it is producing US F-35 stealth combat aircraft used extensively in the genocide in Gaza.”
• HSBC, which has significant shares in Caterpillar, a company that supplies bulldozers that the campaign says are used to demolish Palestinian communities and build illegal Israeli settlements.
• Rolls-Royce, which has a defence business that supplies engines for the US F-35 aircraft.
• Defence contractor Raytheon. The campaign leaflet says: “Raytheon produces bunker buster bombs, which have been used by Israel to target civilian homes during its assault on Gaza.”
• Israeli government bonds that campaigners says are used partly to finance attacks on Gaza. It also highlights companies such as Airbnb, which it says is profiting by listing properties in illegal Israeli settlements.

Research by the campaign has also shown that the pension scheme invests directly in bonds that support Israeli companies such as Teva Pharmaceuticals and gas extraction and exploration that is targeting Gaza.

Contributing

Mohammed Ashraf, chair of of Rotherham Friends of Palestine, said it is likely that any natural assets will be grabbed from Palestinian control.

Sue Owen from the Sheffield coalition said that the pension scheme does not just involve local authorities, their workers and pensioners – council tax payers are also contributing indirectly as they fund pay including pensions.

She said: “The campaign has been going for several years but we have had a real impetus now following the International Court of Justice ruling on ‘plausible genocide’ by Israel in Gaza and Amnesty International saying it is genocide.”

Sue said that these rulings mean that the pension fund and Border to Coast need to take action on their investments to avoid being complicit in genocide.

“Our main issue really is the arms companies and money going directly to Israel, like the government bonds,” she said.

“We’ve frequently asked questions at South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, Border to Coast and the councils – why are you investing in Israeli aggression? The very small amount of money wouldn’t make any difference to their financial returns.”

Damage

She said that the reputational damage to both the pensions authority and Border to Coast is far worse than any financial consideration.

Mohammed added: “They say it’s a marginal amount so it doesn’t make any sense to change it. You should change it, then you would no longer have that reputational risk.”

Sue said: “Coun Jayne Dunn did actually raise a question at Border to Coast about whether they should be looking at human rights more. That should really be fully taken up.”

Mohammed said that taking the campaign to Rotherham Council chamber has been very frustrating. “They just use words to get out of doing what they need to do.

“They argue about the meaning of words, that word means this. The things we’ve had to deal with in Rotherham are unbelievable.”

The campaigners say they are determined to keep going for as long as it takes.

“People would be appalled to find out that their pension money is being invested in genocide in Gaza,” said Sue. The campaign has urged pension scheme members to write to their local council and the pension scheme, voicing their objections.

To contact the campaign, email [email protected]

We have approached South Yorkshire Pensions Authority for comment.