Posted by David Bernstein:
TIAA-CREF Divests from Israeli Company--Not::
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_09_06-2009_09_12.shtml#1252782465
A group of left-wing professors sent a letter to TIAA-CREF asking it
to divest from Africa Israel because it allegedly supports settlement
activity on the West Bank. TIAA-CREF responded that it had already
sold the small stake it owned in Africa Israel. [1]Left-wing activists
are now spinning this as "divestment" from an Israeli company, and
[2]some of the media are biting. But near as I can tell, all it means
is that TIAA-CREF had sold the stock, as it buys and sells dozens of
stocks every year, without regard to a letter it received thereafter.
I myself have sold several Israeli stocks this year, but not because
I'm divesting.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education:
But this afternoon a TIAA-CREF spokesman said the pension company
"no longer owns shares in Africa-Israel Investments Ltd." The
spokesman, Chad Peterson, said that, "earlier this year, the CREF
Stock Account had an extremely small investment" in Africa-Israel,
but the holding has since been sold.
Doesn't sound remotely like "divestment" to me.
Dishonest activist groups + credulous media equals bogus stories.
Disclosure: My sister-in-law works for Africa Israel.
References
1.
http://adalahny.org/index.php/press-releases/25-press-releases-land-developer/319-report-and-statement-indicate-that-tiaa-cref-has-divested-from-africa-israel
2. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1114043.html
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