University of Toronto faculty seeks divesting pension fund from Israel

The University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) has passed a motion calling for the divestment of its pension fund from Israel-linked investments, and has formally submitted the motion to the Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair of the Ontario University Pension Plan (UPP).

In a statement released on Monday, UTFA said it had also shared the decision with the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. It added that the motion would be conveyed to the University Administration and other employee groups within the UPP.

The motion, passed on 8 May with 52 percent voting in favour, calls on the UPP to divest from companies that are directly or indirectly involved in violations of international humanitarian law - specifically those linked to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

This includes "all direct and indirect holdings in entities that manufacture or distribute arms, ammunition, implements or munitions of war, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may be used by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory", as well as companies "engaged in activities that support or sustain Israel's illegal occupation."

The motion also references earlier divestment measures taken against Russian entities, and seeks to bar investment in companies that support or profit from any illegal occupation, including Russia's annexation of Crimea.

The UPP is a multi-university pension plan that includes faculty and staff from the University of Toronto, Queen's University, the University of Guelph, and Trent University.

Advocacy group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomed the result, calling it a "historic divestment motion".

In a statement, the group noted: "The UTFA is the 20th faculty or academic association to endorse boycotting or divesting from Israeli war crimes in Palestine over the last two years. BDS works!"

The initiative was supported by the University of Toronto Faculty and Librarians for UPP Divestment campaign, which argues that university pension funds, described as "deferred wages", should not be invested in entities complicit in human rights violations.

The vote follows a wave of similar campaigns across academic institutions in response to Israel's war on Gaza.

In recent months, the University of York in the UK and Trinity College Dublin have both announced plans to cut financial ties with Israeli companies following student-led protests. In March, Harvard Law School students passed a referendum urging the university to divest from Israel.