Illinois divest now!

DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE ● DIVEST FROM ISRAEL BONDS ●

DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE ● DIVEST FROM ISRAEL BONDS ●

We call on Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs to divest over $145 million of our public dollars from the apartheid state of Israel responsible for the genocide and occupation of the Palestinian people. We also call on the Illinois State Board of Investments to divest from companies complicit in the genocide and occupation of Palestine. We will not stop or rest until all Illinois funds are redirected from Israel to the needs of working and oppressed people and Palestine is free from the river to the sea.

DEMAND FRERICHS DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE NOW!

Frerichs has brought Illinois’ total investments

into the racist, apartheid state of Israel over

$145 million

Israel is an apartheid state

responsible for genocide

Israel is an apartheid, settler colonial state that has been perpetrating decades of oppression towards the Palestinian people, backed by the economic, diplomatic, and military might of the United States and financed by our tax dollars. 

For over a year, Israel conducted a brutal genocide of Gaza, massacring innocent civilians in their homes, hospitals, schools, and places of worship, slaughtering tens of thousands of people, including thousands of children, destroying civilian infrastructure and the environment, occupying Gaza, conducting mass starvation, and perpetrating too many more atrocities to name.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders on the grounds that Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch went further, charging Israel with the crimes of genocide and extermination. 

Despite agreeing to a ceasefire on paper, Israel continues to violate the terms of its agreement. After wrecking intolerable destruction on Gaza, Israel has accelerated its deadly occupation of the West Bank, forcing tens of thousands of people out of their homes, destroying infrastructure, and continuing the arrest, imprisonment, and killing of Palestinians.

Israel is propped up by the U.S.

The US is not merely complicit in the Israeli genocide and occupation, but directly responsible. Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of United States aid, receiving at least $310 billion in total assistance. In 2023, nearly 70% of Israeli arms imports came from the US. 

Israel is the landed aircraft carrier for the US in a geopolitically critical region, serving the interests of American imperialism. As Joe Biden himself stated: “Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interests in the region.” 

Illinois finances genocide & occupation

Besides the aid from the federal government, state, county, and municipal institutions across the US fund the Israeli occupation using our tax dollars to the tune of at least $3 billion. In Illinois, one way that public funds make their way to Israel is in the form of Israel Bonds purchased through the Illinois State Treasurer’s office, currently held by Michael Frerichs.

In addition, various pension funds in Illinois invest in companies that are either based in or conduct business in or with the occupation, including but not limited to, the Illinois State Board of Investments, the investment fund manager for 3 pension funds, including the State Employees’ Retirement System, and the Municipal Equity and Annuity Benefit Fund in Chicago. 

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is charged with investing public funds to grow their value so they can then be used to benefit Illinoisans. This role does not include acting in the service of foreign governments, yet Frerichs’ investment in Israel has been clearly politically and ideologically motivated. He has spent a third of allowable money for foreign governments on Israel, brought Illinois into the top 5 states holding Israeli bonds, and referred to the apartheid state as “our Israeli friends” and the “only democracy in the Middle East.” 

Bonds are an investment instrument that have been critical to Israel’s growth. In 1957, Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir stated: “The central role in building our economic strength has been played by Israel Bonds.” Funds raised from the sale of Israeli bonds are not restricted, meaning they are transferred straight into Israel’s general budget, and can be used for military spending, refunding the US government for security equipment, or even helping fund illegal settlements. 

Michael Frerichs funds Israel

against our will at our expense

Not only is investment in Israel morally despicable, it is increasingly financially precarious. During the course of the genocide, Israeli bonds have been downgraded several times by leading credit agencies due to its aggression towards Gaza and its neighbors and the damage sustained to its economic growth and security. Now, the Israeli economy is in a tailspin, facing a major exodus of its tax base, the shutdown of thousands of businesses, historic debt, and other issues. Last but not least, Israel being an apartheid, occupying state makes it inherently an unstable investment. 

Over a year of sustained protests and direct action, the Democratic Party being abandoned by its base in the 2024 elections, and polling has irrefutably demonstrated that the tide of public opinion has firmly moved against Israel. This is especially the case in the democratic stronghold of Chicagoland, where the largest Palestinian population in the United States resides. 

Ignoring the will of the people, Frerichs renewed $15 million of our tax dollars in Israel in February 2025. Despite Israel deteriorating economically and initiating another wave of aggression towards the Palestinian people, all but guaranteeing more credit downgrades, Frerichs decided to purchase the longest term Israeli bonds on the market. With this purchase, he made a conscious choice to invest in the stability of Israel at the expense of working people in Illinois and made it abundantly clear that he stands with the genocidal Israeli occupation. 

The State Treasurer is an elected position and accountable to the people – we have a right to demand how our funds are used. In solidarity with the people of Palestine and all those across the state who reject public funds being used in such criminal ways, we call on Frerichs and all public institutions in Illinois to divest from and permanently cease investment in Israel. We will not stop or rest until public funds are redirected from the apartheid state of Israel to the material needs of working and oppressed people and Palestine is free from the river to the sea.