“AXA must comply with international law and break with Israel’s colonial, apartheid policy”, 28 July 2017

70 French organizations, associations, parties and unions have published a call to AXA to respect international law and cut ties with Israel’s colonial and apartheid policy. AXA is a shareholder of three Israeli banks: Hapoalim, Leumi and Mizrahi Tefahot. A report by the Israeli research group “Who Profits” found that all Israeli banks are implicated in the financial infrastructure that allows companies, government agencies and individuals to participate in the colonization of Palestine and perpetuation of the occupation. Through its subsidiary, AB, AXA maintains investments in Elbit Systems, a major Israeli weapons manufacturer accused of providing the illegal white phosphorus containing shells used by the Israeli army against civilians in Gaza. In an appeal published on 28 july 2017, the above mentioned groups called on AXA to put an end to its controversial partnerships and cease profiting from the occupation and colonization of the Palestinian people.

The signatories of this communiqué point out that international citizen engagement has forced companies such as Veolia and Orange to halt their involvement in Israeli colonization and that pension funds such as PGGM in the Netherlands, FDC in Luxemburg and Danske Bank in Denmark have all divested from Israeli banks due to their involvement with Israeli settlements…