Why is Minnesota still doing business with a country whose soldiers shot a five-year-old girl 335 times? Her name was Hind Rajab.
For nearly two years, Minnesota Labor for Palestine has joined workers around the world in demanding an end to what is being called history’s first live-streamed genocide. Yet the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) continues to ignore rank-and-file union members’ urgent calls to divest.
As Minnesotans, we don’t want our state’s public funds invested in companies that contribute to the slaughter, starvation and occupation of Palestine. We don’t want our tax dollars or pensions invested in militarism…anywhere. But so far, SBI board members Governor Tim Walz, Auditor Julie Blaha, Secretary of State Steve Simon, and Attorney General Keith Ellison continue to keep Minnesota’s money invested in genocide.
According to DivestMN.com, as of June 2025, the SBI held at least $5.6 billion in public assets tied to entities complicit in or profiting from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. This includes a $1.4 million investment in Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer.
At this point, it is no longer a matter of debate whether genocide is occurring. The International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and Palestinians themselves have all called it what it is: genocide. Even Ellison has publicly acknowledged this. So why, despite all this, does the SBI continue to ignore our demand?
Genocide remains a prosecutable crime under the Geneva Convention. The SBI has signed on to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, which require human rights considerations in investment decisions. Yet, the board has failed to adopt any meaningful policy or take action that aligns with those principles.
Why is the SBI forcing Minnesotans to violate our moral and legal obligations under international law? Our pensions and tax dollars should be invested in Minnesotans, not militarism. Let us be clear: The workers of Minnesota do not want Gaza’s blood on our hands.
We have watched in horror as Israeli bombs and policies starve and kill Palestinian civilians, including babies, women and children. We’ve listened to doctors around the world sound the alarm over the unprecedented number of children shot in the head or chest by Israeli soldiers. Even during the so-called ceasefire in Gaza, civilians continue to be killed and maimed.
“The people of Palestine cannot afford to wait. International law demands action, and so do we.”
We have stood in freezing temperatures outside closed-door SBI meetings to make our demands known. For nearly five months, the SBI has either canceled or rescheduled its public meetings, an apparent violation of Minnesota law, which mandates quarterly meetings open to the public. These delays have only intensified our commitment.
Minnesota has a history of divesting from regimes that violate human rights. In 1985, the SBI passed a resolution to divest from apartheid South Africa. We raised this precedent directly with Ellison and Walz during a Labor Day BBQ hosted by Ellison on August 31. Union members from MAPE, CWA, MNA, MFE, and SEIU asked them three clear and direct questions:
- Will you divest Minnesota from genocide?
- When is the next SBI meeting?
- What concrete and tangible actions are you taking to help end the genocide of Palestinians?
In response, we received deflections. At one point, Walz’s security attempted to remove union members from the public, labor-focused event. Ellison told us we misunderstood the SBI’s function and implied the South Africa divestment was a unique exception.
Instead of addressing our questions, he pointed to past visits to Gaza and the West Bank more than a decade ago and redirected us to the legislature. Immediately after this event, Ellison appeared on Mehdi Hasan’s program on Zeteo, where he publicly acknowledged that what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, yet failed to disclose his own position on the SBI, which continues to fund it.
Minnesotans and workers across the country are tired of these hypocrisies. As we organize against corporate greed, systemic injustice, and the oppression of marginalized communities, we demand more than empty words from our elected officials. We demand urgent and accountable action.
Seventy-seven percent of Democrats believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. A majority of voters oppose sending additional military aid. Why, then, do Democratic leaders continue to dodge questions about what concrete actions they will take?
Minnesota workers deserve to know how DFL leaders can claim to defend human rights at home while enabling human rights abuses abroad. How can we trust the fiduciary responsibility of the SBI when its board members invest public funds in ways that are both morally indefensible and inconsistent with the UN principles they claim to uphold?
Governor Walz, Attorney General Ellison, Secretary Simon, and Auditor Blaha: Minnesota workers will not forget your complicity. We refuse to let our pensions bankroll militarism and mass civilian death. The people of Palestine cannot afford to wait. International law demands action, and so do we.
We are Minnesota Labor for Palestine. We will see you at the next SBI meeting, and this time, do not cancel it.
Minnesota Labor for Palestine describes itself as a grassroots coalition of union and non-union members based in working class solidarity with Palestine.