By Greg Bouwer on J-Wire…
More than 700 New Zealand academics have signed a letter urging UniSaver, the national university pension fund, to divest from companies connected to Israel’s defence sector — a move supporters say is an “ethical duty” and critics call “a political crusade.”
The open letter, organised by a group called University Workers for Palestine (UW4P), claims UniSaver’s investments make members “complicit in genocide” in Gaza. The group names Elbit Systems, Caterpillar, and Palantir among the companies it wants removed from the portfolio, citing their alleged role in “Israel’s occupation and war crimes.”
UniSaver Rejects Bespoke Divestment Demands
In a response reported by Scoop and The Spinoff, UniSaver said its default investment strategy “does not make bespoke exclusions” for particular groups of members.
The fund, which manages more than NZ$3 billion in retirement savings, said creating separate mandates to reflect specific political or ethical concerns would raise costs for all members.
UniSaver’s exposure to Israeli-related firms represents less than 0.1% of its total holdings.
Read the full story on J-Wire HERE.
