Sign this petition to demand that Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and the Illinois State Board of Investment divest from the Israeli genocide and apartheid of Palestinians.

Israel is an apartheid state that has been occupying Palestinian lands and systematically repressing the Palestinian people for decades. For nearly 2 years, Israel has been committing a genocide in Gaza, wiping out entire families and slaughtering at least 63,000 individuals, including 19,000 children. Israel has destroyed most of Gaza’s infrastructure, including its education, health, and water systems, and the majority of housing. For almost 2 years, Palestinians in Gaza have suffered constant bombardment, outbreaks of preventable disease, man-made malnutrition that has been classified as a full-blown famine due to the Israeli blockade, and countless other atrocities.

Yet, governing bodies in Illinois continue to enable the atrocities occurring in Palestine by investing our taxpayer dollars in genocide. The Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) has poured millions of dollars from publicly-funded pensions for state workers, judges, and state legislators into investments in corporations which directly profit from Israel’s genocide and apartheid. These investments include weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, tech giants like Palantir and Microsoft, Israeli banks like Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, and many more.

Furthermore, State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, who also serves as ISBI’s Vice Chair, currently has $100 million of Illinois taxpayers’ dollars directly invested in Israel Bonds, which give the Israeli government funds to use without restriction. The President and CEO of Israel Bonds, Dan Naveh, stated, "At a time when Israel is under attack, we are highly gratified by this meaningful investment, which reflects that the State of Illinois stands with Israel in a powerful way."

We, the taxpayers of Illinois, demand that our hard-earned money be immediately and permanently divested from any corporation, fund, or entity that conducts business with or in the state of Israel. We will not stand for our tax dollars being used to uphold apartheid and commit genocide by starving, bombing, and slaughtering innocent civilians.

Israel es un estado de apartheid que ha estado ocupando tierras palestinas y reprimiendo sistemáticamente al pueblo palestino durante décadas. En los últimos diez meses, Israel ha estado cometiendo un genocidio en Gaza, masacrando al menos a 40,000 personas, incluyendo familias enteras y 16,000 niños. Israel ha destruido la infraestructura de Gaza, incluyendo los sistemas de educación, salud y agua, y ha bloqueado la entrega de alimentos y ayuda médica. Los palestinos en Gaza ahora sufren constantes bombardeos, hambrunas y epidemias de desnutrición y polio. Israel está acusado del crimen de genocidio ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia (CIJ), la corte más alta del mundo, que recientemente solicitó que Israel ponga fin inmediatamente a su ocupación ilegal de tierras palestinas.

Sin embargo, el Tesorero del Estado de Illinois, Michael W. Frerichs, ha apoyado lo que él llama “nuestros amigos israelíes” comprando millones de dólares en bonos de Israel desde que tomo el cargo en 2015, utilizando dinero de los contribuyentes, con una inversión de 55 millones de dólares desde el 7 de octubre, lo que eleva el total de inversiones de Illinois a más de 100 millones de dólares. Illinois es uno de los gobiernos estatales líderes en cuanto a su apoyo material al estado de apartheid israelí. De hecho, el Presidente y CEO de Israel Bonds, Dani Naveh, afirmó: "En un momento en que Israel está siendo atacado, estamos muy complacidos con esta inversión significativa, que refleja que el Estado de Illinois está con Israel de manera fuerte."

Firma la petición para exigir que el Tesorero del Estado Frerichs retire inmediatamente todos los fondos públicos bajo su control de los bonos de Israel.