Divest from Elbit Systems Now! #BDS

Speech given by Autumn Lake, member of the Anti-War Committee, on August 22, 2019 to the State Board of Investment at the MN Capitol

We in the Anti-War Committee join the broad spectrum of grassroots organizations here today to make our voices heard and insist that our elected representatives engage in ethical practices for the good of the people of Minnesota. The Anti-War Committee, like many of the organizations present today, has spent decades standing for the rights of oppressed people all around the world – from Palestine to Mexico, from Stonewall to Saint Paul. It is for this reason that we stand together in asking you, fellow Minnesotans who have been chosen to lead, to make the right choice with regard to the state’s investments. We are opposed to the Minnesota State Board of Investments’ continued investment in the arms manufacturer Elbit Systems and must insist that the $1.2 million currently invested in the company be divested instead.

First and foremost, Elbit Systems is the State of Israel’s largest private manufacturer of military technology, with 95% of their sales coming from weapons alone. They are currently the world’s leading exporter of military and surveillance drones. The company came under fire, so to speak, because of the fact that they’ve produced cluster munitions and white phosphorus shells – both of which are banned under international law. By these metrics alone, Elbit Systems should be disqualified as a candidate for the investment of retirement funds for the State of Minnesota. Simply put, the funds that are used to bring people peace-of-mind in their retirement years should not be gained through investment in a company that profits from war and imperialism.

Though these facts are damning on their own, they hardly represent the totality of the company’s disreputable practices.

Elbit Systems remains a critical component of the bloated United States military budget. Their United States subsidiaries continue to receive contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars from multiple branches of the Department of Defense. As the federal government continues to cut programs for human need in favor of inflating this already supermassive military budget, it is clear that the State of Minnesota maintains complicity in inflating the war economy by remaining invested in Elbit Systems.

The aforementioned cluster munitions, white phosphorous shells, and military drones have all been used by the State of Israel in their brutal campaigns against Palestinian civilian populations. Almost ten thousand Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli repressive apparatus since September 29th, 2000. Two thousand of those killed were children. White phosphorous was heavily utilized in what Israel called “Operation Cast Lead,” the 22-day campaign launched against the Gaza Strip that took the lives of some 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 300 children. Elbit Systems bears a direct responsibility for helping maintain this cycle of colonial violence against an indigenous people. Their participation in the continued maiming, slaughter, and surveillance of Palestinians is the reason that Elbit Systems was able to secure a contract with the Department of Homeland Security for advanced security towers at the U.S.-Mexico border. The crisis of imprisoned migrant children and the crisis in Palestine are enabled by the same corporation. The Minnesota State Board of Investments is complicit in violence against Palestinians and immigrants through their investment in this company. 

Minnesota should not invest in companies that profit from human rights abuses, nor in a country that bans our own member of Congress from entering to investigate human rights abuses. Minnesota’s own Representative Ilhan Omar has been barred from entering the State of Israel thanks to the direct input from President Trump, and as elected representatives yourself you should be outraged by this prospect.

We in the Anti-War Committee, and all of the other grassroots organizations present today, ask you to consider the impact of this continued investment in Elbit Systems. We have always maintained that funds should be used for human needs such as healthcare, education, and housing – not for war. The State of Minnesota’s investments should also reflect these tenets.  

#BDS #MNDivestElbit