HAYWARD, Calif. — After months of work, Hayward residents have succeeded in pushing the city to divest from four corporations with ties to the state of Israel, which is currently facing charges of genocide against the Palestinian people at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
After an hour of public comment largely in support of the move, the Hayward City Council voted, 4-3, on Tuesday to divest $1.6 million from Caterpillar, Intel, Chevron and Hyundai. Mayor Mark Salinas and councilmembers Julie Roche and Ray Bonilla were opposed, saying the decision was “irresponsible.”
“I think it’s irresponsible policymaking to make this kind of decision on the fly,” Roche said.
The city’s investment policy was on the consent agenda, which is generally a package of routine actions that are approved with one motion and without much discussion. However, Councilmember George Syrop pulled the policy and recommended divesting from the four companies, as well as amending the city’s investment policy to prevent any city funds from going toward companies identified by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, a nonviolent protest movement modeled after the South African anti-apartheid struggle.
Members of the city staff and council expressed reservations about tethering the city’s investments to the BDS Movement’s list and suggested broadening the policy to divest from companies supporting any countries engaged in war crimes or human rights abuses. Syrop agreed to kick the divestment policy back to the Council Budget and Finance Committee, but maintained they should move forward with divesting from the four companies.
Councilmembers Angela Andrews, Dan Goldstein and Francisco Zermeño agreed, prompting cheers from the audience.
However, members of the council, including some who supported the amendment, said they didn’t approve of the way the policy was being changed and that the process should have started with the Council Budget and Finance Committee in November. They said that would have given city staff enough time to research the full implications of the divestment.
Roche said she was open to discussing socially responsible investing, but feared the council didn’t have the “full set of facts to make such a decision.”
City Manager Kelly McAdoo told the council there could be increased administrative costs if the portfolio manager were to begin more closely monitoring what’s happening with Hayward’s investments. She added that the city hadn’t had the opportunity to fully explore the implication of divesting from all the companies on the list, making her nervous about moving forward with the decision.
“Just thinking about Barclays Bank,” McAdoo said, naming one of the companies on the list. “They could be someone who want to issue city bonds in the future.”
Syrop responded that the BDS Movement has a short list of companies identified for exclusion and divestment and he didn’t foresee administrative costs increasing precipitously as a result. However, he agreed to sending the policy to the Council Budget and Finance Committee so they could further discuss the policy, including whether the city should have companies on the BDS list issue its bonds.
The day after the decision, Syrop told the East Bay Echo he was appreciative of his colleagues on the council who supported the divestment. He underscored the importance of the city remaining on the right side of history, drawing parallels to the council’s 1985 decision to divest from companies connected to apartheid South Africa.
“This divestment sends a clear message that the people of Hayward refuse to be complicit in genocide,” Syrop said. “And, as we heard from city staff, there’s still more work to be done when it comes to implementing full BDS language in our investment policy, but this is a great start, and it needs to be a start for all local governments.”
In December, dozens of residents, organized by the Hayward Community Coalition, called on the city council to pass a resolution in support of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, but the council said it did not to take a position on international affairs as a matter of policy. The coalition showed up in full force again on Tuesday to voice its support for the divestment and praised the decision in a press release the following day.
“Calling for a ceasefire is no longer enough,” Arieana Castellanos, chair of the coalition, said in a statement. “We asked for less than one percent of our city’s total investment portfolio to be reallocated to stand against genocide. It shouldn’t be controversial. Hayward’s divestment demonstrates what cities across the country can do to materially support the people of Palestine. We need to divest a lot more than $1.6 million at all levels of government until Congress, Joe Biden, and Israel’s leadership end the occupation.”
The city is in the process of opening a new account with the California Asset Management Program, so the funds are unlikely to be immediately reallocated.
Sonia Waraich can be reached at 510-952-7455.
How can the Hayward council be the decision maker of diverting Irasel .What is your answer to handling Hamas. This is war this is what happens in war. I find it disgusting that you people took among your self to do this.your bowing down to Hamas and this is what they are demanding and your giving into their demands.