Public Endorsement of SRI from Israeli Ambassador

March 16th, 2008 | Categories: News | Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Following Bibi Netanyahu’s lead, Salai Meridor is now the latest Israeli government official proposing divestment from companies who are doing business with Iran. As reported first by JTA in an article titled: “What can you do about Iran? Use the phone, Meridor says“, March 11th, 2008, the Israeli Ambassador to the US, Salai Meridor is proposing that Israelis and Americans alike contact their pension fund managers to ensure that none of the companies they invest in are doing business with Iran. It boggles the mind why such a simple, yet effective step against the genocidal regime in Iran is not being taken by more public figures in Israel. The only reason I can think of for the slow uptake of Iran Divestment lobbying is that politicians and the public in Israel are not fully aware of the tremendous impact their investments have on our world. The phrase “if you can’t see, it it doesn’t exist” is particularly applicable to the silent world of the capital markets. While its the major financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, CitiGroup and others who take the limelight, its the ordinary Joe whose money they are playing with. Isn’t it about time all the Joe’s in the world stand up and take a stand?

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A Review of Israel Ministry of Finance SRI Position Paper

February 10th, 2008 | Categories: News · SRI · Israel | Tags: , , , ,
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Last week, I received an email from the Israeli Ministry of Finance of great significance. The email announced the publishing of a policy paper by a division within the Ministry to consider the implications of Socially Responsible Investing. This email quietly has the potential to change the way Israeli society views the capital markets. Currently the capital markets are viewed by Israelis as the unbridled ability to maximize profits with little concern for society’s well being or ethical standards. Little debate has taken place on this topic and sadly many efforts to raise the topic has resulted in the hijacking of the debate by corporate interests rather than an open balanced debate by all sectors of the Israeli public. I propose that people who have any concern for the well being of Israeli society ought to turn their attention to SRI as a tool for moderating values in Israeli society. As this paper proposes, having legislation enacted that allow ethical and moral considerations to be considered by a fund manager is the foundation on which our society’s economy shall reflect our desire for a just and good society. Without this legislative foundation we are very close to economic anarchy.

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