Norway Fights Back Israel - Aims to Fully Divest

My pipe dream would be for America to do this, which we both know is unlikely, but a girl can dream!

Norway has just ordered $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund to review investments into Israeli firms. This means that the Norwegian government is seeking to potentially divest state investment funds from Israeli companies, specifically ones that participate in the illegal occupation of the West Bank or onslaught on Gaza.

VIA CNN

This is incredibly important because their government pension fund is global and is worth $2 trillion and is deemed to be the largest sovereign wealth fund on earth.

After reports were published on Tuesday, sighting worsening situation in Gaza, Norway's finance minister Jens Stoltenberg announced the fund’s ethics council to look over the investments they fund into Israeli companies.

The report highlighted the worsening man-made mass starvation that Gaza is experiencing right now at the hands of the Israeli government and its enforced blockade.

But it’s important to note that this decision did not come out of nowhere. Activists and trade unions have criticized the Norwegian government following a report by the newspaper Aftenposten, which revealed that the Israeli company Bet Shemesh Engines Holdings services the engines of fighter jets and attack helicopters allegedly used in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Norway also decided to increase its shares in the company throughout 2024, and it now has more than $15 million invested in the company.

Norwegian Prime Minister said:

The war in Gaza is contrary to international law and is causing terrible suffering, so it is understandable that questions are being raised about the fund's investments in Bet Shemesh Engines.

The ethics guidelines for Norway's wealth fund are strict and against companies that cause “serious violations of fundamental ethical norms,” and “systematic human rights violations/violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict.”

Not entirely sure why they are still investing in war crime companies owned by Israel, but per their guidelines, they have divested from some companies involving the illegal occupation of Palestine.

Since October 2023, a report done by the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories showed that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund increased its investments in Israeli companies by 32%.

With that being said, though, by November 2023, Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, withdrew all of its nearly half a billion dollars worth of investments in Israeli bonds. So, their divesting more now is not entirely impossible.

If Norway does indeed decide to divest, it will be the first country to do a full divestment and hopefully the beginning of a domino effect for more countries to follow.

It’s easy to be cynical and assume nothing will change, especially when powerful governments are deeply entangled in profit and politics. But Norway’s move shows that pressure works, and that ethics can, at times, outweigh interests.

If the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund can start questioning its role in funding human rights violations, then there’s no excuse for silence elsewhere.

America may be the least likely to follow suit, but that doesn’t mean the demand for accountability should stop at Norway’s borders. If tax dollars and state investments are fueling violence, people have a right to know and a right to resist.

Divestment isn’t a pipe dream. It’s a political tool. If enough people demand it, it could become a global standard rather than an exception.