Israeli Weapons out of America!
On May 29th, just following the murder of George Floyd, the city of Minneapolis looked like a war zone. Heavily armored military vehicles rolled down the streets, police lined up in riot gear, and drones buzzed overhead.
Did you know that the Minnesota State Board of Investments holds around 10,000 shares, worth a whopping $1.2 million, in Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems — the world’s largest exporter of drones?
Contact Governor Tim Walz and urge him to divest his state’s public retirement funds from Elbit Systems.
Dear Governor Tim Walz,
On May 29th, just following the murder of George Floyd, the city of Minneapolis looked like a war zone. Heavily armored military vehicles rolled down the streets, police lined up in riot gear, and drones buzzed overhead. It is urgent that you divest the Minnesota State Board of Investment from Elbit Systems—Israel’s largest weapons company and the latest exporter of militarized drones in the world.
The Minnesota State Board of Investments holds around 10,591 shares in Elbit Systems worth more than a whopping $1,256,650.00.
Elbit provides surveillance technology for Israel’s apartheid wall that snakes through the West Bank. The weapons giant has been involved in all of the major Israeli assaults against Palestinian people in Gaza for over a decade, including the 2008-2009 assault which killed over 1,400 people, the 2011 assault which killed over 150 people, and the 2014 assault which killed over 2,000 people. In each of these assaults, the majority of those killed were civilians, and in the 2014 assault over 550 of those killed by Israel were children. Elbit drones constantly fly over Gaza, providing surveillance targeting for military assaults and Israeli snipers that hit peaceful protestors. In the U.S., Elbit Systems America contracts with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a virtual surveillance wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Elbit markets its equipment to governments around the world as “battle-tested” (on the Palestinian civilians).
As we seek to dismantle American systems of racism and police violence, we must begin by severing relationships with the companies that are profiting from oppression and death and that means beginning with eliminating the partnerships that U.S. police have with the Israeli military and the state of Minnesota has with Israeli weapons companies. Thanks to the work of our partners at Jewish Voice for Peace, U.S. police trainings with the Israeli military are being exposed. U.S. police-Israeli military joint trainings share, promote, and extend discriminatory and repressive policing in both countries, contributing to the militarization and violence U.S. police exercise against black and brown people and the growth of massive networks for spying and surveillance of U.S. citizens. As the governor of Minnesota, it is urgent that you divest your state’s public retirement funds from Elbit Systems.
Sincerely,