Demonstrators demand Illinois Treasurer divest from Israeli apartheid

Chicago, IL – Over 100 protesters flooded the offices of the Illinois State Board of Investments (ISBI), June 20, in a militant action demanding Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs divest over $145 million worth of bonds from Israel.

Co-led by Anti-War Committee – Chicago (AWC) and Boycott Divest Sanctions – Chicago (BDS), the demonstration took place in the context of Israel’s mass murder of over 55,000 Gazan Palestinians, over 5000 Lebanese, its overseeing a land grab in western Syria, and launching a war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Treasurer Michael Frerichs responded to the crimes of Israel by investing an additional $45 million since October 7th, 2023.

This is the third and largest of AWC’s protests at ISBI. The broad united front AWC and BDS assembled included the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), Students for a Democratic Society – UIC, Students for Justice in Palestine – UIC, U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Chicago Irish for Palestine, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Malaya Chicago.

Elinor Keener of AWC skewered Frerichs and the entire board when she said, “The social, economic and political state of Israel is so volatile that even its own major newspapers publish headline after headline admitting to the disunity and criminality of their own government. If they can read the writing on the wall, why can’t Frerichs and the board?”

Inside the board meeting, activists gave ISBI no rest. Noura Ebrahim of BDS Chicago, demanded, “Divest now! End every dollar propping up Israel’s apartheid regime, its illegal occupation, and its genocidal military campaign. Invest instead in life: in the people of Illinois. In education, in healthcare, in housing, in our futures. How is that so hard? It’s not just your children that deserve safety and security, Michael Frerichs, our children deserve it too. I’m a mother to Palestinian children; they deserve safety and security just as much as yours do.”

Kobi Guillory, a member of the Chicago Teachers Union and CAARPR stated, “It was unacceptable for the tax dollars of my parents to fund the apartheid in South Africa just like it is unacceptable for my tax dollars right now, for the tax dollars of everyone in this room, to fund apartheid in Palestine. All the while, there are actual investments we could be making. Investing in my students. My students don’t have Chromebooks. My students don’t have clean water; there’s lead in the water. My students don’t have safe ways of travelling to their schools – so I’m calling on y’all today right now to make a better investment, to invest in our children instead of investing in the genocide, in the wholesale slaughter of Palestinian children.”

While supporters of divestment spoke inside, activists kept up the rally’s energy on the outside, forming a picket while shouting chants on bullhorns: “Michael Frerichs you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!” and “Zionists go home!”

Frerichs deploys Zionists in his support

State Treasurer Michael Frerichs was in attendance for the first time since AWC and BDS began their divestment campaign, with his trademark abuse of authority, corruption and favoritism on full display.

During the action, it was revealed that Frerichs had invited several Zionist organizations, including the Chicago Jewish Alliance, the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Jewish United Fund, to come to the board meeting to speak in support of him.

About a dozen Zionists showed up about 30 minutes after the divestment coalition activists. The divestment activists knew there would be 20 slots for public comments, so they followed the procedure and stood in line to sign up to speak.

The Zionists walked past the line for public comment, and state police opened the door for them. When members of the coalition objected that everyone had to get in line, a state police officer lied and said, “These people work here.” Coalition members responded that workers at this building wear badges, which the Zionists did not have, but the cops let them in anyway, over loud objections.

Ten minutes later, the Zionists were escorted back out of the building and stood to one side. One woman explained in a social media post that they were unfairly denied speaking just because the coalition members arrived first.

Frerichs was able to use his authority to reserve two slots for Zionists to each praise Frerichs and Israel for ten minutes in the hearing. The 18 pro-divestment speakers were left with just over a minute each.

The small Zionist counter-protest withered away, leaving the crowd optimistic about the future of the divestment campaign as Husam Marajda from USPCN closed out the rally, stating, “This is the largest number of people we’ve had at this protest, we’re going to come back in three months, and I want us to double these numbers!”

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palesyime

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/demonstrators-demand-illinois-treasurer-divest-from-israeli-apartheid?pk_campaign=rss-feed