Harvard Says It Is Not Divesting From Israel
Harvard University said the sale of some of its investments in Israel was not politically motivated and it is not divesting from Israel.
Harvard spokesman John Longbrake told Foreign Policy that the university sold $39 million in stocks in five Israeli companies because Israeli stocks could no longer be considered part of the emerging markets portfolio, where they previously had been held.
“The university has not divested from Israel,” Longbrake said. “Israel was moved from the MSCI, our benchmark in emerging markets, to the EAFE index in May due to its successful growth. Our emerging markets holdings were rebalanced accordingly.”
He said Harvard is still invested in Israel but declined to go into specifics.
According to Foreign Policy, several of the stocks that were sold – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, NICE Systems, Check Point Software Technologies, Cellcom Israel and Partner Communications – were doing poorly.
Nevertheless, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions for Palestine movement claimed a victory, according to Foreign Policy. The BDS campaign targets Israeli consumer, academic, cultural and sports organizations.
The Anti-Defamation League said the BDS campaign also claimed that Hampshire College divested from Israel in February 2009 – a claim that was rejected by the college.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. We’ve started our Passover Membership Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community. This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
