Lambeth Unison and Lambeth 4 Divestment from Israel state their disappointment with Lambeth Council

Lambeth Unison and Lambeth 4 Divestment from Israel have made a joint statement in response to Lambeth’s claim that they have no exposure to funds complicit with Israel’s breaches of international law.Joint Statement From Lambeth Unison and Lambeth 4 Divestment from Israel   We (Lambeth Unison and Lambeth 4 Divestment from Israel) are very disappointed to see the statement of February 3 on the Love Lambeth website regarding the recent divestment petition.   The statement constitutes a misuse of Council resources to discredit a widely supported campaign and evade proper public scrutiny by implying (inaccurately) that the Council has no exposure to funds complicit with Israel’s breaches of international law.   We note that the statement confirms that the borough’s pension fund has now divested an estimated £250,000 from companies included on the UN list of those operating in the Israel’s illegal settlements.   It should be noted that this comes 15 months after the Pension Committee Chair (Cllr Martin Bailey) refused a vote on such divestment when the trade union, pensioner and Green Party representatives requested it at the October 2024 Committee.   We, therefore, welcome the news but fully reject the implication that this constitutes divestment from wider complicity with Israel.   As the Lambeth 4 Divestment from Israel campaign, Lambeth Unison, and the 5000 petition signatories have made clear, investments in the illegal settlements constituted less than 1% of Lambeth’s complicity with Israel’s breaches of international law.   The complicit investments targeted by the campaign and detailed on Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s website make clear that Lambeth has identified holdings of £52.4 million in such complicit companies.   We are very disappointed therefore to see the Council doubling down on their recent outrageous refusal (at one day’s notice) to hear a petition which gathered 5000 signatories across the borough.   This is a flagrant disregard of the constitution which states that petitions with over 3000 signatures should be given full debate, that as a community leader the Council should take an expansive view of their remit and hear petitions on a range of themes and that petitions should have their status confirmed within 10 working days (this rejection took 62 days).   At a time when a global rise in fascism threatens democracy everywhere, it is crucial that public institutions honour democratic process and defend the right of people to partake in such processes.   It seems timely to recall the 1983 resolutions passed by Lambeth and the Greater London Council towards ending apartheid in South Africa included commitments to (1) cease the purchase of any goods originating from South Africa and Namibia; (2) withdraw all investments held by the Council in companies with South African interests or companies with investments in South Africa or Namibia.   The campaign are currently considering how best to ensure the democratic voice of thousands of residents, workers and students in the borough is heard and represented.   To use Council resources to seek to discredit and sow confusion about the campaign is a further politicisation of the administrative function of the Council and one we wholeheartedly reject.

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