Over the past year, pro-Palestinian student advocacy groups have drawn increasing attention to Canadian universities’ ties to Israel and, by extension, their complicity in the genocide in Palestine. During the summer, encampments on university campuses drew heightened attention to the pro-Palestinian movement and its political aims. At all 15 Canadian encampments, student advocacy groups adopted boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) strategies, with protestors primarily demanding that universities divest from companies complicit in Israel’s military offensive and occupation of Palestine. At McGill, activists called on the university to divest $20 million CAD worth of investments in arms manufacturers and other companies they say are tied to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians. With so many student activists calling for divestment, it’s crucial to understand the material implications of these financial ties. The Tribune breaks down why divestment has been central to pro-Palestinian student groups’ demands and what companies they are calling on McGill to divest from.
Why divestment?
The BDS movement has been active since 2005, when a coalition of more than 170 Palestinian unions, professional associations, refugee networks, and other civic groups called on individuals and organizations around the world to “impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel.” The coalition issued the call to action one year after the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion condemning Israel’s construction of the West Bank Barrier—a wall that Israel describes as an antiterrorism “security fence” separating it from the West Bank. The BDS National Committee (BNC) recognizes Israel as a colonial power and advocates for “initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era.” The BNC states that it does not support any particular resolution, such as a ‘one-state’ or ‘two-state’ solution. Instead, the BNC says they focus on promoting Palestinian human rights and advocating for Palestinian refugees’ return to occupied territories that were previously allocated to Palestine under the United Nations General Assembly’s Resolution 194 of 1948.
Since 2016, Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) at McGill has been calling on McGill to support the BDS movement. During the 75-day Palestinian Solidarity Encampment on McGill’s Lower Field, SPHR urged McGill to disclose investments valued at less than $500,000 CAD, lobby the Canadian government to condemn Israel’s siege on Gaza, divest from companies it identified as complicit in the genocide of Palestinians, and abstain from penalizing student protestors through disciplinary action. On June 11, McGill issued a statement noting that if protestors dismantled their encampment, the university would grant them amnesty, increase connections with Palestinian scholars and institutions, disclose investments under $500, 000 CAD, consider divestment from weapons manufacturers, and speed up the process by which the issue of divestment would be brought before the Board of Governors’ (BoG) Investment Committee. However, in line with their BDS mandate, SPHR rejected the offer, noting that the proposal did not guarantee divestment and did not meet their “demand for material change.”
A week after McGill dismantled the encampment on July 10 with the help of police and private security company Sirco, McGill President Deep Saini announced that McGill would host two students or scholars “directly affected by the crisis in the Middle East” through their Scholars at Risk Fund, disclose investments under $500,000 CAD, and “explore the question of divestment from direct investments in companies that derive a dominant portion of their direct revenues from the production of military weapons, regardless of the countries in which they operate.” In a statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office asserted that the university “does not take position on geopolitical issues,” but that the Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility is currently reviewing feedback received from community members on Oct. 1 on the question of divestment from military weapons companies and will submit its recommendations to the Board of Governors in December 2024. However, without a concrete commitment to divest, SPHR and other pro-Palestinian advocacy groups on campus have continued to escalate pressure on McGill to meet their BDS demands.
In an interview with The Tribune, an SPHR representative, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that their organization sees advocating for divestment as the best way for students to resist Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.
“What we can do as students [...] is to hold our academic institutions accountable for their complicity. And one of the main ways that McGill is complicit is by investing in weapons manufacturers and other companies that are supporting and that are explicitly involved in the genocide in Gaza,” the SPHR representative said. “You hit them where it hurts, which is their pockets.”
Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) McGill echoed SPHR’s sentiment, asserting that pro-Palestinian student activists focus on lobbying their respective universities because they monetarily support and are represented by them.
“Students pay more tuition than they do taxes; we believe that students’ interests should be represented in university decision-making, especially as their tuition is entangled in the university’s investments, development projects, and academic partnerships,” IJV wrote to The Tribune. “By targeting university divestment, students can challenge the status quo and leverage the university’s global reach and resources more effectively than they might through government lobbying.”
Divestment at McGill
Leading up to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Fall Referendum in November 2023, where 78.7 per cent of non-abstaining voters voted to pass SPHR’s Policy Against Genocide in Palestine, SPHR compiled data on McGill’s investments using figures from Fall 2023. Overall, SPHR found that McGill had approximately $20 million CAD worth of investments in companies it identified as complicit in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, including several military technology companies, consumer goods corporations with notable presences in Israel, and financial institutions with ties to the occupation in Palestine.
As of September 2024, when McGill last disclosed its holdings, McGill’s investments in the companies identified by SPHR have increased to approximately $23 million CAD. Using figures from McGill’s Office of Investments, The Tribune> breaks down which corporations SPHR has explicitly called on McGill to divest from and others that may be implicated in Israel’s siege on Gaza as of September 2024.
Notably, more than half of the total investments identified by SPHR in 2023—$10.6 million CAD—were in the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), which is itself invested in companies tied to the genocide in Palestine. As of Fall 2023, when SPHR last compiled their data, RBC reportedly held approximately $58 million USD in investments in Palantir, a software company that supplies militaries with artificial intelligence models, and who, in January 2024, forged a strategic partnership with the Israeli Defense Ministry to support the IDF’s “war-related missions.” As of September 2024, McGill’s holdings in RBC amounted to $14,377,709 CAD.
Most prominently, SPHR has condemned McGill’s investment in six defense and security companies they say support Israel and/or the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), including Safran Group ($1,746,410 CAD), BAE Systems PLC ($1,599,083 CAD), MTU Aero Engines ($1,398,206 CAD), Thales Group ($1,301,810 CAD), Airbus Aerospace ($1,024,239 CAD), and Lockheed Martin ($687,049 CAD).
Safran, a multinational aerospace and defence corporation headquartered in Paris, allegedly provides equipment to the Israeli police in the West Bank.
BAE Systems PLC, a British multinational aerospace, defence, and information security company, allegedly supplied Israel with components for their manned and unmanned aircraft, as well as upgrades to their targeting systems for their tanks and warships.
MTU Aero Engines has ties to MTU Solutions, which develops and manufactures engines for tanks used by the Israeli military. Notably, the MTU 12V883 engine powers Merkava MK 4 tanks which have been used extensively by the IDF.
Thales Group co-developed the Watchkeeper Drone with Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, who supplies weapons to the IDF. The Watchkeeper is based on Elbit Systems’ Hermes drone, the latter of which the IDF currently employs. Although the Thales Group’s Watchkeeper drone is not currently in use according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, some BDS groups may allege that their collaboration with Elbit Systems constitutes complicity in Israel’s siege on Gaza.
Airbus Aerospace licensed the Heron TP drone from Israel Aerospace Industries to sell to the German military. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the Heron TP is currently in use by the IDF. However, beyond licensing equipment from Israel, there are no other direct links between Airbus and Israel that The Tribune is aware of.
Finally, Lockheed Martin has supplied Israel with an array of aircraft, including 66 F-15s, 175 F-16s, as well as 39 F-35 fighter jets—one of the most advanced fighter jets on the market—with 36 more on order, forming a crucial component of the IDF’s air operations over Gaza.
Although not explicitly cited by SPHR, the BNC has alleged that General Dynamics ($266,907 CAD) has connections to Israel. General Dynamics reportedly supplies bombs that have been used in Gaza, weapon systems that support the IDF’s aircraft, as well as combat and armoured personnel vehicles that facilitate the IDF’s ground and air operations in Palestine.
McGill’s investments in these weapons and security technology companies totaled approximately $9 million CAD as of September 2024.
SPHR also highlights several consumer goods companies with significant corporate presences in Israel and occupied territories such as L’Oreal ($660,132 CAD), Coca-Cola ($1,265,914 CAD), Unilever ($1,752,695 CAD), AXA ($337,517 CAD) and Volvo ($206,417 CAD).
L’Oreal has a subsidiary called L’Oreal Israel, which allegedly operates a factory in the occupied town of Migdal Ha’emek.
Coca-Cola Israel also reportedly operates a regional distribution centre in the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone. Furthermore, the company’s subsidiary, Tabor Winery, reportedly sources grapes from vineyards in occupied territories.
Unilever is a consumer goods company that does business in Israel and occupied territories. In 2022, Unilever undermined the pro-Palestinian stance taken by their subsidiary, Ben and Jerry’s, by selling its Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel to American Quality Products, facilitating the sale of the ice cream in Israel and occupied territories under its Hebrew and Arabic name, despite Ben and Jerry’s wishes.
According to the BNC, AXA has a $2.6 million USD holding in Bank Hapoalim, an Israeli bank they say is complicit in settling occupied territory.
The Electronic Intifada condemned Volvo in 2007 following alleged destruction of Palestinian houses using Volvo vehicles. The Volvo group responded by stating that it did not condone the use of its equipment for such purposes, but that it could not control how its products are used; however, the Electronic Intifada and the BNC continue to criticize Volvo for selling armoured buses to Israel to transport Israeli settlers.
McGill’s investments in these consumer goods companies totaled approximately $12 million CAD as of September 2024.
Further, SPHR points to Leumi Bank ($60,006 CAD), which finances settlements in occupied territories in Palestine and Syria.
Importantly, some companies identified by SPHR and other pro-Palestinian groups on campus are more materially tied to the genocide in Palestine than others. While arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin directly support Israel’s military campaigns, companies like RBC are indirectly tied to the genocide and occupation through their holdings in companies connected to the IDF. By contrast, other companies, like L’Oréal, are tied to the occupation through their properties and business in occupied territories.
Although it is difficult to compile a comprehensive list of companies complicit in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, pro-Palestinian groups on campus may want to consider calling for divestment from all of Canada’s big banks, rather than just from RBC, given that they all have investments tied to the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, which supplies weapons to the IDF.
The diverse nature of companies' ties to the genocide and occupation makes it difficult to definitively state how much of McGill’s endowment fund is tied up in Israel’s offensive on Palestine.
Efficacy of divestment
Although some may question if divestment is a realistic demand, SPHR underlined that divestment at McGill and other universities is possible.
“Students demanding divestment are continuously painted as idealists, when really the Board of Governors could enact divestment within the snap of a finger,” SPHR wrote in a statement to The Tribune. “The $20 million [CAD] that McGill invests in weapons manufacturers and other companies complicit in the genocide in Gaza is but a sliver of a fraction of the [~$1.9 billion CAD] that McGill holds in investments. Divesting from genocide is well within the realm of possibilities, yet every month the Board of Governors chooses to remain complicit in the genocide in Gaza. The students will not lessen their demands.”
While the BDS movement has faced harsh criticism from Canadian politicians on both sides of the political spectrum, and critics have expressed doubt over the efficacy of BDS strategies, IJV highlighted that the BDS movement has had a number of recent successes, citing recent hits to the sales of companies like Coca-Cola and Target that pro-Palestinian activists are boycotting.
Representatives from SPHR and IJV added that students have historical precedent of successfully pushing for divestment. The anti-apartheid student movement succeeded in pressuring McGill to become the first Canadian university to divest its holdings in South African apartheid in 1985. IJV noted that anti-apartheid student activism created a “domino effect which extended to the federal government” and that today’s pro-Palestinian student activism has the same potential. In addition to divestment from South African apartheid, SPHR cited McGill’s divestment from companies doing business in Burma in 2006 as an example of how students can successfully implement BDS strategies to compel universities like McGill to take action. They also noted that McGill’s cutting of academic ties with Russian institutions in 2022 demonstrates that the university is not afraid to implement academic consequences for global human rights violations
“Looking at McGill's past geopolitical history, the students know that their demands are perfectly tangible and the students will continue to be steadfast,” SPHR wrote.