A petition signed by 3,300 people called on Enfield Council to divest its pension fund from Israeli weapons suppliers and other firms but was rejected by councillors, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

pA Pro-Palestine protest outside Enfield Civic Centre last month (credit EDC)

Local pro-Palestine campaigners have raised their concerns that members of Enfield Council’s pension policy and investment committee are “directly linked” to companies supporting Israel’s war in Gaza.

Enfield Divestment Campaign (EDC), a coalition of local pro-Palestine groups, has questioned the impartiality of some members of the committee, after researching the companies they are connected with.

The coalition collected more than 3,300 signatures on its recent divestment petition and was invited to address a council meeting last month. Campaigners called for the council’s pension fund, which the eight-member committee regulates, to divest itself from companies linked to Israel’s wars and occupations.

Although the motion was rejected, the committee was asked by councillors to “note” and “be aware of” the petition when updating its investment strategy. It’s not clear if the committee will be asked to vote on it specifically.

Asked to comment for this story, a council spokesperson said the committee remains “neutral” and “doesn’t let politics or foreign policy influence its choices”, with its main goal being to obtain a financial return for pension holders.

As well as four Labour councillors and two Conservatives sitting on the committee, there are also two non-elected members whose job is to provide financial advice. One of these is Carolan Dobson, an independent advisor tasked with checking the advice provided by Colin Cartwright, the committee’s investment consultant. Neither Carolan nor Colin can cast a vote, however.

Carolan is a director at BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust, whose umbrella company BlackRock has investments in companies including Lockheed Martin, RTX and Boeing, which all supply the Israeli government with weapons.

Local campaigners from EDC also highlighted that Carolan chairs Brunner Investment Trust, which outsources its investment management to Allianz Global Investors. Allianz has faced criticism for investing in Israel’s military and providing insurance to companies such as Elbit Systems, which develops and supplies a wide range of advanced weapons.

In addition, pro-Palestine campaigners from EDC have pointed out that Conservative committee member David Skelton’s employer is Flint Global, a business advisory firm which supports the defence sector.

In response to the concerns raised, a council spokesperson said: “We make investment decisions based on expert advice, careful checks and legal responsibilities.

“The committee stays neutral and doesn’t let politics or foreign policy influence its choices. Its main goal is to get good financial returns while also considering things like human rights and environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards in a fair and legal way.”

Chris Kaufman, an EDC member who addressed last month’s council meeting, said: “An estimated 61,000 Palestinian children, women and men have been killed with countless more starved, maimed or buried under the rubble.

“The council’s pension fund has invested over £50million to [in] companies arming and facilitating Israel’s remorseless onslaught described as ‘plausible genocide’ by the International Court of Justice.

“When confronted with this reality by the people of Enfield in the form of a petition, our borough’s councillors preferred to stick their fingers in their ears.

“We cannot rest whilst the slaughter continues and Enfield voters will want to know why council pension money is contributing to it.”

Chris also claimed it was “hogwash” to suggest as Cllr Skelton had at last month’s meeting that the idea of divestment was unrealistic, since London councils including Kingston, Islington and Waltham Forest had all agreed to do so in recent months.

Cllr Skelton was approached for comment but did not respond.

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