Pressure growing on Norway's wealth fund over Israeli investments
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Universities and fund managers throughout the world have been pressured to divest as the war enters its seventh month and the Israeli aggression continues.
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Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store speaks during the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, November 2, 2021. (AFP)
As the war on Gaza rages on, pressure is mounting on Norway's $1.6 trillion wealth fund to reconsider the terms based on which it invests in the Israeli occupation with many non-governmental organizations and MPs asking for complete divestment on Tuesday.
In December 2022, the Israeli Channel 12 news outlet reported that Norway's sovereign wealth fund was considering halting its investments in apartheid "Israel" over illegal settlements in the occupied territories.
The fund's ethical board is already looking into whether Israeli firms in which it has shares violate its permissible investment standards due to the war. However, opponents argue that this falls short since fund proposals often take months, if not years, to realize.
Universities and fund managers throughout the world have been pressured to divest as the war enters its seventh month and the Israeli aggression continues.
This includes the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, which owned stakes of 15 billion crowns ($1.36 billion) in 76 Israeli enterprises by the end of 2023, including real estate, banking, energy, and telecoms.
They comprised 0.1% of the fund's total investments.
Line Khateeb, leader of the NGO Palestine Committee in Norway, told Reuters outside the parliament that divesting is crucial to end the genocide since the Israeli economy is "dependent on international investments and support from the United States."
Pro-Palestinian protesters stood behind Khateeb, some holding placards that read: "Deinvest Now!!", while the parliament's finance committee held a hearing on the fund's actions in 2023.
Left-wing MP Kari Elisabeth Kaski questioned the finance minister and fund officials about why the fund's ethical requirements had not been reinforced in light of the ongoing war.
Kaski demanded that parliament impose sanctions against "Israel" and direct the fund to totally divest from Israeli enterprises.
Ida Wolden Bache, the Norway central bank chief, stated that the existing ethical rules had been extensively evaluated and had wide political support.
Norway discourages business, trade with Israeli settlements
In March, Bloomberg reported that the Norwegian government advised its enterprises against engaging in trade and economic operations that contribute to the continued existence of Israeli settlements, reinforcing its current position.
Norwegian firms have requested preliminary guidance from authorities, the government said, after other nations sanctioned what they call "extremist settlers" for their human rights abuses against Palestinians.
According to the government, there is a risk that businesses are "contributing to violations of international humanitarian law or human rights" through their financial and business interactions in settlements.
Norway has been firm in its position that the settlements in the West Bank, including east al-Quds, violate international law, particularly humanitarian law and human rights.
In addition, four Norwegian universities have opted to cut relations with Israeli colleges that they consider involved in the occupying regime's murderous onslaught in Gaza.
One of the universities taking action, OsloMet, has declared the end of its connections with Haifa University and committed not to enter into any new collaborations with Israeli colleges complicit in the war.
It also pledged to stop procurement contracts with vendors affiliated with the Israeli military or illegal settlements.
The University of South Eastern Norway followed suit, breaking ties with Haifa University and the Hadassah Academic College.
Following in their footsteps, the University of Bergen has terminated collaboration relations with the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, citing the academy's participation in providing uniforms and equipment to the Israeli occupation forces (IOF).
The Bergen School of Architecture has also joined this move, terminating its affiliation with Bezalel Academy due to its links to the IOF.
