UK Pension Scheme Invests £7 Billion in 'Israel-Linked' Firms While Claiming Ethical Standards
A London public pension fund, the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), has reportedly funnelled over £7 billion into companies 'linked to Israel’s abuses against Palestinians,' according to The New Arab. These aren't just 'Israel-linked' in some abstract way; the report specifies investments in firms like HP, Caterpillar, and General Electric—companies whose products are consistently implicated
in the military occupation of Palestinian land and infrastructure demolition. Conveniently, their annual reports on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors often skip over this rather significant 'social' impact. It appears that 'ethical investing' guidelines, lauded by these funds, are flexible when the profits are good, or when geopolitical sensitivities require a strategic blind
eye. This isn't charity; these are pension funds. The message is clear: your future financial security, it seems, is perfectly compatible with financing what human rights groups describe as systemic oppression. One might wonder if the fund managers simply didn't read past the prospectus, or if certain 'ethical' considerations are just for show.