A new report by the VRS Divest campaign uncovers $394 million of Virginian pensions and tax dollars invested in the Israeli supply chain of death. The report outlines how the Virginia Retirement System, the largest financial institution in the Virginia government, has invested the financial futures of hundreds of thousands of public workers in the weapons supply chain to Israel.
We affirm that the VRS’ investment decisions do not exist in a financial vacuum, but carry political and ethical consequences. The VRS has an obligation to respond to the ethical demands of their stakeholders by reevaluating their investment practices and ending their financial complicity in war and genocide. The VRS Divest campaign represents a critical opportunity to apply public pressure to the Board of Trustees and demand meaningful change.
Virginia public workers decades of service to their communities. We are fighting for a Virginia that reflects that service, not corporate interests and bloodshed.
This report coincides with the monthly Board of Trustees meeting in which they review the investment portfolio and plan ahead. To date, they have dismissed the campaigns demands, arrested a firefighter for delivering the petition, invited a notorious war criminal to their yearly retreat, and further collaborated with war profiteers. This report demonstrates that divestment is both justified and achievable. The question that remains is whether the VRS will choose to act.
Read the report: vrsdivest.org/report
Contact: vrsdivest@gmail.com 
Sign the petition: bit.ly/vrsdivest
Organizations endorse: vrsdivest.org/endorse
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