August 21, 2024 at 6:23 pm
The office building containing the headquarters of AXA Investment Managers in the La Defense business district in Paris, France, August 2, 2024
[Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Multinational insurance firm, AXA, has reportedly sold off all its investments in Israeli banks and arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, following a persistent and ongoing campaign by pro-Palestine activists.
According to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the French insurance firm, AXA, has steadily divested from major Israeli banks and the state’s main arms company Elbit over the past six years, with it first partially divesting from Israel’s Elbit Systems in December 2018 and in March 2019, before fully withdrawing by the end of that year.
The campaign, led by the global Stop AXA Assistance to Israeli Apartheid coalition, also reportedly successfully pressured AXA to divest from two Israeli banks – Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot and First International Bank of Israel – by the end of 2022.
According to research from the organisation, Profundo, commissioned by the corporate accountability group, Ekō, which is part of that coalition, AXA still retained over $20 million worth of shares invested in three Israeli Banks: Bank Hapoalim, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Leumi.
The insurance firm then reportedly divested from all three of those banks by 24 June, 2024, however, with it also refraining from reinvesting in the other two major Israeli banks, Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot or First International Bank of Israel, since at least 31 December, 2022.
For all the hypocrisy, divestment from Israel is still possible and essential to ending apartheid
The report by BDS also quoted AXA’s CEO as announcing in April this year that the company has “zero investments in Israeli banks, direct or indirect”.
Fiona Ben Chekroun, the BDS movement’s Europe Coordinator, stated that “BDS pressure works. The confirmation of AXA’s divestment from all Israeli banks and Elbit Systems is a major milestone for the movement that follows years of strategic BDS campaigning.”
Leili Kashani, a campaigner with Ekō, also stated that her company’s “new report shows AXA engaged in clear, fast, and intentional divestment from Israeli banks long targeted by Ekō and other human rights activists for their complicity in war crimes against Palestinians.”
She added, however, that “AXA is not off the hook yet. We are still investigating AXA’s investments to make sure it is not complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Kashani added that “Our data and the sharp drops in our graphs despite steady or rising share prices show that AXA divested due to external pressure to stop crimes against Palestinians, and not in response to market prices.” She praised it as “a big win for the growing movement for Palestinian rights, and proves that persistent public pressure can compel corporations to act ethically.”
MEMO contacted AXA for comment, but it did not respond by the time of publishing.
Multinational insurance firm, AXA, has reportedly sold off all its investments in Israeli banks and arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, following a persistent and ongoing campaign by pro-Palestine activists.
According to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the French insurance firm, AXA, has steadily divested from major Israeli banks and the state’s main arms company Elbit over the past six years, with it first partially divesting from Israel’s Elbit Systems in December 2018 and in March 2019, before fully withdrawing by the end of that year.
The campaign, led by the global Stop AXA Assistance to Israeli Apartheid coalition, also reportedly successfully pressured AXA to divest from two Israeli banks – Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot and First International Bank of Israel – by the end of 2022.
According to research from the organisation, Profundo, commissioned by the corporate accountability group, Ekō, which is part of that coalition, AXA still retained over $20 million worth of shares invested in three Israeli Banks: Bank Hapoalim, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Leumi.
The insurance firm then reportedly divested from all three of those banks by 24 June, 2024, however, with it also refraining from reinvesting in the other two major Israeli banks, Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot or First International Bank of Israel, since at least 31 December, 2022.
For all the hypocrisy, divestment from Israel is still possible and essential to ending apartheid
The report by BDS also quoted AXA’s CEO as announcing in April this year that the company has “zero investments in Israeli banks, direct or indirect”.
Fiona Ben Chekroun, the BDS movement’s Europe Coordinator, stated that “BDS pressure works. The confirmation of AXA’s divestment from all Israeli banks and Elbit Systems is a major milestone for the movement that follows years of strategic BDS campaigning.”
Leili Kashani, a campaigner with Ekō, also stated that her company’s “new report shows AXA engaged in clear, fast, and intentional divestment from Israeli banks long targeted by Ekō and other human rights activists for their complicity in war crimes against Palestinians.”
She added, however, that “AXA is not off the hook yet. We are still investigating AXA’s investments to make sure it is not complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Kashani added that “Our data and the sharp drops in our graphs despite steady or rising share prices show that AXA divested due to external pressure to stop crimes against Palestinians, and not in response to market prices.” She praised it as “a big win for the growing movement for Palestinian rights, and proves that persistent public pressure can compel corporations to act ethically.”
MEMO contacted AXA for comment, but it did not respond by the time of publishing.
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