Belfast will become one of just a handful of American cities that have agreed to withdraw their financial investments from companies that have ties to Israel in protest of its ongoing killing of Palestinian civilians in its war against Hamas.
The City Council voted 5-0 at its meeting on Tuesday night to approve the proposal to divest from companies that activists say have contributed to the disproportionate killing of tens of thousands of Gaza’s residents. Mayor Eric Sanders also read an accompanying proclamation.
The financial impact of Belfast’s action could be small, as it has investments in just two such companies, according to city officials. They did not publicly identify the companies. The measure also prohibits future investments in such firms for as long as the occupation and attacks on Gaza continue.
But Belfast’s decision to divest puts it in rare company, as just a small number of other communities across the country have done so, and multiple councilors echoed that it sends a strong message. The vote also stands out because Belfast is a relatively small city of just 7,000 in a more rural part of the country.
Other cities that have made similar decisions include Portland, where the City Council in September passed a protest resolution to divest from Israel. However, Portland Mayor Mark Dion later said that he regretted supporting the measure, arguing that it was divisive and marginalizing to the Jewish community, according to the Portland Press Herald. Portland’s vote also turned out to be symbolic, since the city had no investments with such companies
Other U.S. cities that have decided to divest from Israel are Hayward and Richmond, both in California, and Dearborn and Hamtramck, both in Michigan.
A group called the American Friends Service Committee has produced a list of companies that it says are “complicit in the Gaza genocide,” which it has distributed to municipalities that are considering divesting. Those companies include many Israeli firms, as well as weapons and machinery manufacturers and oil giants from the U.S.
At the Belfast council meeting, 10 attendees spoke in favor of divestment before the council took its vote — and more were prepared to share their stance if the public comment period had lasted longer. Nobody spoke against the measure.
All councilors spoke in favor of the measure, as well.
Belfast residents first approached Mayor Sanders to request the divestment proposal be placed on the council’s agenda.
The issue is familiar to Sanders, as his son was not allowed to receive his degree from Harvard University last spring because of his participation in campus demonstrations for Palestine.
“Thank you for bringing it to us to do this,” Sanders said during the meeting. “It gives me hope that I’m not alone in this world that we all think this is a horrible situation.”
Sanders also mentioned his son, saying, “It’s not all we can do, and it’s highly symbolic, but it is something. I know Syd would be proud, too.”
“It’s not a small gesture, in my book, with all due respect,” said Councilor Neal Harkness. “There’s only one thing that carries real weight in this country, and we all know it’s money.”
“Even though it seems like this little gesture won’t do much, I do believe that, even though it’s a small thing, it’s a drop in the big bucket that we have to keep filling,” Councilor Brenda Bonneville said. “This is just humanitarian, that’s all it is. This is being a human being, and being a human being that cares.”
