Providence voters call for divestment from Israel, Al Jazeera reports

Voters in Providence, Rhode Island, called for their city to divest from Israel, Al Jazeera English reported on November 6. The broadcaster described the action as a vote seeking an end to investments it characterized as supporting genocide.

The wording of the measure, its official result and its legal effect could not be established. The report did not specify the voting date or provide vote totals, leaving unclear what steps the city would be required to take.

Earlier investment decisions in Portland, Maine, and Hayward, California, involved council votes rather than the voter action reported in Providence. Their stated terms also differed: Portland requested conditional divestment, while Hayward approved removing four companies from its portfolio.

Portland's resolution records an 8-0 council vote on September 4, 2024, with one councilor absent. The document lists September 14, 2024, as its effective date and directs its requests to the city manager.

It asks the manager to withdraw investments from entities the resolution associates with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the occupation of Palestinian territory. That request, covering entities on an attached list, is conditional on divestment being feasible and carrying no financial penalty for the city.

A separate provision asks the manager to avoid future direct investments from the general fund in the specified entities. It also seeks to prevent investment in Israel Bonds, which the resolution describes as investment in the Israeli military, irrespective of existing holdings.

The resolution links its duration to the continuation of the occupation of Palestinian territory and the human rights and international law violations it describes.

In Hayward, an official city statement dated January 25, 2024, said the council had voted 4-3 the preceding Tuesday to remove four companies from the municipal investment portfolio. The statement did not identify those companies or describe the decision as divestment from Israel.

Hayward also explicitly said the vote did not endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and did not instruct city staff to bring investment policy into line with the movement's guidance.