Call for Ealing to Disinvest from Firms Connected with Israel
Palestine Solidarity Campaign wants shares in shipping company to be dumped
A demonstration outside Ealing Council's offices calling for divestment.
Picture: West Ealing PSC
May 15, 2025
The west London branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has written an open letter to Ealing Council demanding divestment from companies associated with Israel.
It has collected a petition with 3,500 signatures asking that the borough pension fund sells shares in what it describes as ‘Genocide-Enabling’ firms.
Two specifically mentioned are Elbit Systems which is Israel’s largest weapons manufacture and Maersk, the global shipping country in which Ealing is the largest UK local authority investor.
In the letter Barry Gleeson, secretary of the local branch of the PSC says, “You are not alone in facing this moral question — but you are falling behind in answering it. A growing number of UK councils have already voted to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s breaches of international law.”
He urges the council to sell shares in these companies ‘regardless of financial cost’.
Maersk’s CEO addressed the issue of shipping to Israeli at a recent annual general meeting and admitted the company does carry military related cargo but not arms or ammunition. Vincent Clerc told shareholders, "Maersk has a strict policy of not shipping weapons or ammunitions into any active conflict zone."
Oxford City Council recently passed a motion to divest from companies which it said were ‘complicit in Israel’s war crimes’. The divestment programme includes companies like Barclays, HSBC and Caterpillar. Tower Hamlets council has already disinvested from companies it believes supports the Israeli war effort. Some local authorities such as Waltham Forest have withdrawn from all investments linked to arms producers, including those supplying weapons to Israel.
The council declined to comment on the open letter. Other councils have rejected calls for divestment on the basis saying that, as they often invest through pooled funds it would be impractical and have a significant cost for members of the pension scheme.
As of now, the Ealing borough Pension Fund does not have publicly disclosed policies specifically addressing investments related to conflict zones involving Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories. The fund adheres to general ethical and environmental investment principles, focusing on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations, but there is no indication of targeted exclusions or divestment strategies concerning Israeli-linked assets.
The UK government's proposed Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill aims to restrict public bodies from making investment decisions that conflict with UK foreign policy, including boycotts of Israeli companies. If enacted, this legislation could limit the ability of councils like Ealing to pursue divestment strategies based on geopolitical considerations.
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