THURSDAY 17 JULY 2025
Statement following the passing of the Cardiff Council pension divestment motion
Cardiff Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) welcomes the motion passed at today’s Cardiff Council meeting (by 57 for, 4 against) on the topic of Gaza and divesting the council’s pension fund from complicity in potential breaches in international law.
This follows today’s submission to the same council meeting of a petition from 1,200 Cardiff residents calling to disinvest from Israel’s genocide and apartheid against Palestinians. The petition was sponsored by PSC and the Muslim Council of Wales.
As noted by the proposer, Cllr Andrea Gibson (Plaid Cymru, Pentyrch and St Fagans ward), in her summation before the vote, today’s Council’s decision is in line with public opinion in Cardiff. Also, across the country, a clear majority now exists which supports a full arms embargo on Israel and a call for selective sanctions on Israeli goods and government representatives.1
Today’s motion states, in particular, that Cardiff Council:
- “notes the ongoing, deeply concerning and harrowing conflict in Gaza has resulted in significant loss of innocent life,….”
- “believes public sector pension fund investments in Cardiff and across Wales should not fund war crimes, human rights violations, or the potential breaking of international law regardless of how profitable they are”
- “agreed to express in strong terms its view that it does not wish to be associated with companies potentially complicit in war crimes in conflicts.”
PSC has identified that Cardiff pension fund invests £117m in 52 companies which are in breach of international law2 by facilitating genocide and illegal land settlement.
The £117m represents a mere 3.7% of the total pension fund investment pot. Following the passing of this motion, PSC would expect it to be perfectly feasible to achieve the total divestment of these companies without impacting fiduciary responsibilities to achieve the best returns for pensioners. It is noted that our research result has come to a larger amount of complicit investment than that reported by the Council’s pension fund committee. Our research is at the disposal of the Council’s Pension Fund Committee, if it can help with identifying complicit entities.
More and more institutions are taking steps to divest from companies enabling Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, as a result of grassroots campaigning. This timeline lists a selection of divestment milestones in Britain.
Quotes:
Farooq Toor (Muslim Council of Wales), submitting the petition to Council, said: “The human cost of Israel’s war against Palestinians is immense. It is the greatest human catastrophe of our generation. The international community has failed in its duty to protect Palestinians or to curb Israel’s unchecked aggression.”
Cllr Andrea Gibson (Plaid Cymru, Pentyrch and St Fagans ward), who proposed the motion, and Rhys Livesy, seconding, said: “Plaid Cymru’s motion to Cardiff City Council today, offers it the opportunity to be the first local authority in Wales to move its pension fund away from investing in companies complicit in war crimes and breaches in international law. This will hopefully speak to all involved in the pension scheme and express a clear view against contributing to harmful practices against Palestinians in Gaza, and is a practical step to advancing ethical public policy in the capital.”
Clive Haswell, Co-Chair, Cardiff PSC, said: “The Council is to be congratulated today in taking a bold step towards divesting its pension fund from companies collaborating in genocide, ethnic cleansing and land theft – all war crimes or breaches of international law. As we witness, every day, examples of these crimes are being committed against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied territories. There is no time to waste in applying this new policy to its full extent to bring pressure to bear on complicit companies, and on Israel itself.”
Councillor quotes from the debate:
“The situation in Gaza is an abomination” said Dan De’Ath (proposing an amendment); & drawing a comparison, he said “everyone condemned South African apartheid in the 80s – once it was over”
Chris Weaver (Lab), Chair of the Pension Committee and seconding the amendment, said: “Cardiff Council wants to be seen as a model for ethical investment.”
Imran Latif explained that Gaza’s “horrors are beyond comprehension – the international court says there is a plausible genocide.
Emma Reid Jones (Ind), supporting motion: “Our concern remains firmly centred on Gaza”
Ali Ahmed (Lab): “Children queuing for water are being bombed. Nothing like this has happened before. If this keeps going no one will be left in Gaza”.
Opposition came from the Conservatives: Calum Davies claimed “The Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions campaigns were antisemitic.”
MOTION AS AMENDED
This Council notes:
The ongoing, deeply concerning, harrowing conflict in Gaza, has resulted in significant loss of innocent life, and that in November 2024, Cardiff Council debated the crisis and resolved to support calls for an immediate ceasefire and to communicate that position to the Foreign Secretary.
Despite a temporary ceasefire in January 2025, hostilities have resumed and conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate.
This council further notes:
- Latest data from the Cardiff and Vale pension fund suggests it holds just under £3M in Israel based companies (0.09% of the total fund).
- Local authorities such as Waltham Forest, Oxford City, and North Somerset Council have passed policies opposing investment in arms companies complicit in the conflict.
This council believes:
- Public sector pension fund investments in Cardiff and across Wales should not fund human rights violations, or the potential breaking of international law regardless of how profitable they are
- That whilst all war is devastating and must be avoided where possible, the defence industry may be a legitimate industry for a public sector pension fund to invest in, subject to appropriate due diligence under any responsible investment policies
- That the devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza requires an immediate bilateral ceasefire, the provision of food and medicine to the civilian population, and a lasting political and diplomatic solution
Although the council’s pension committee makes decisions independently of the political structures of Cardiff Council, Full Council is within its rights to express a view on the matter.
This council resolves:
- To reiterate the beliefs and resolutions passed in the motion last November
- To express in strong terms its view that it does not wish to be associated with companies potentially complicit in in war crimes in conflicts.
- To write to the Welsh Pension Partnership to make these views clear and for them to review their investments and consider whether any holdings should be divested , within the context of their fiduciary responsibilities, Environmental, Social and Governance risk and it its Responsible Investment Strategy.
- To ask the Cardiff and Vale Pension Fund and Wales Pension Partnership to review their ethical/responsible investment policies to ensure there are strong checks prior to investment of whether any companies are potentially complicit in war crimes
- To ask the Cardiff and Vale Pension Committee and Welsh Pension Partnership to regularly review and report divestment progress.
- To reaffirm Cardiff’s identity as a City of sanctuary and solidarity, and its commitment to align local governance with the principles of justice, sustainability and respect for international law
Footnotes
1 https://palestinecampaign.org/polling-reveals-huge-public-support-for-arms-embargo/
2 Examples of Cardiff Pension Fund’s current complicit investments:
- £4.9m in four Israeli banks: Leumi, Hapoalim, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank and Israeli Discount Bank, which finance construction of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land;
- £2.3m in the Israeli real estate group, operating on Palestinian land;
- £5.5m in Barclays, which raises billions of pounds to fund weapons;
- £1.1m in Palantir, which is in a “strategic partnership” with Israel’s Ministry of Defense in 2024, providing advanced AI tools to enable attacks on Palestinians.
- £29m in Alphabet, which has been co-developing cloud computing services for the Israeli state and the Israel Defence Force (IDF).
- £3m in BAE Systems, which makes components for combat aircraft, munitions, missile launching kits, and armoured vehicles for the IDF.