WE WON. 🇵🇸 The Michigan Treasury dropped all SMRS investments in Israel Bonds! Together, we ended a 30-year relationship between the SMRS and Israel Bonds.
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For the first time in 30 years, Michigan’s pension system for roughly half a million public employees, including public school teachers, is free of Israel Bonds.
The Michigan Treasury declined to reinvest SMRS funds in a $10 million Israel Bond upon its maturity this November. It has withheld purchasing additional Israel Bonds since the launch of our campaign over a year ago.
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Michigan’s SMRS is the first state retirement system in the U.S. to drop all investment in Israel Bonds.
This is a significant victory in a growing nationwide trend. State and local governments are increasingly declining investments in Israel Bonds in response to public opposition to Israel’s genocide.
Michigan came together for Palestine. Thousands of residents and 57 organizations demanded the Michigan Treasury divest our taxpayer-funded public pensions from Israel Bonds.
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We will continue to organize for divestment in Michigan until Palestine is free.
We commend the Michigan Treasury for dropping Israel Bonds, and will continue to monitor the SMRS investment portfolio to ensure that Michigan public employees, retirees, and teachers’ retirements are never invested in Israel Bonds. We will continue to organize in pursuit of divestment of Michigan taxpayer funds in Israel’s ongoing genocide, occupation and apartheid.
