At a special meeting this Wednesday, the Portland City Council will consider adopting a resolution to divest the city from entities “complicit in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
A description of the resolution, which is sponsored by City Councilor At-Large April Fournier, reads: “The City of Portland recognizes the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and seeks to avoid economically supporting this crisis through the City’s financial investment.”
No specific entities in which the city is currently invested are named in the resolution.
[RELATED: Anti-Israel Protesters Defend Hamas “Resistance” by Blockading Traffic in Maine’s Biggest City…]
The resolution comes nearly a year after the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,000 people and taking about 250 hostages, including American citizens.
In response to the Oct. 7 attack, Israel launched a large-scale bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip with the goal of eliminating Hamas and returning all of the hostages taken during the Palestinian terrorist group’s attack.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claims that more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began, and that over 85 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced as a result of Israel’s campaign. However, the Gaza Health Ministry’s claims are broadly viewed with skepticism and have often been founded to be severely inflated.
Over the course of the Israel-Hamas war, Pro-Palestine activists have held protests at college campuses across the U.S., including at Columbia University and Brown University, demanding that the universities divest from Israel and companies tied to Israel.
Calls for divestment are tied to the broader pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls upon banks, local councils, universities and pension funds to withdraw investments from the State of Israel and to boycott companies the movement believes are “complicit” with the actions of the Israeli government and military.
Councilor Fournier did not respond to a request for comment on her proposed divestment resolution.
A similar divestment resolution was recently considered by the Providence, R.I. City Council, which sought to prevent the city from investing its assets into Israeli bonds.
In January, the Portland City Council voted unanimously in support of a resolution sponsored by Councilor At-Large Pious Ali calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The resolution called for President Joe Biden and Maine’s congressional delegation “to demand an immediate ceasefire to urgently end the violence in Gaza and Israel,” and to “take immediate action and use their position and influence to end violence.”
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="30588 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=30588">8 Comments
Why aren’t the geniuses at the city council petitioning Hamas leadership to divest their $billions to help out the “Palestinians” (a fabricated people) in Gaza?
https://nypost.com/2023/11/07/news/hamas-leaders-worth-11bn-live-luxury-lives-in-qatar/
Record crime, drugs, homelessness, screaming high taxes, crappy schools and the liberals introduce a meaningless, do-nothing resolution. At least they’ll sleep well tonight knowing that they’re “stewert” special.
Too bad they wouldn’t put this much effort into their actual job which is running the City of Portland.
Fuck Hamas and Fuck the Muslims
Fuck the NGOs that bring them here
this is what is important to these communists? No wonder the city is in the sewer. Great job citizens of Portland keep voting these communists in!!!
I would think the council would support all businesses and keep politics out of the flow of free trade and commerce. What everyone needs is driving more businesses out of the community.
I guess this is what you can expect when Marxist Demercrats, running the city, support alien invaders over own citizens.
What are these councilors planning to do for us when the pro Palestinian mob start burning down the city in a few weeks?
So they’re going to divest UNRWA?
Maybe Portland should invest in Palestinian businesses, I hear they are very good in tunnel building technology. Good luck with the terror sympathizers that are running your city.