(Chicago, IL -- December 22nd, 2021) -- StandWithUs applauds the Illinois Investment Policy Board (IIPB), which voted unanimously (7-0-0) in favor of divesting the state's pension funds from Unilever, in accordance with the Illinois anti-BDS law (SB1761). The law aims to ensure Illinois taxpayers do not invest in companies that engage in discrimination, through, “actions that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with the State of Israel or companies based in the State of Israel or in territories controlled by the State of Israel.”
StandWithUs staff and partners were proud to speak out in favor of divesting from Unilever at the IIPB meeting, prior to the vote. They spoke about how Unilever was clearly in violation of SB1761, because it owns Ben & Jerry's and has refused to reverse the company's discriminatory decision to cut ties with its factory in Israel. Illinois will join Arizona, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Texas in divesting from Unilever.
About StandWithUs StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism. Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has programs on five continents with chapters and offices throughout the U.S., in Israel, the UK, Canada and Brazil. For the last ten years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum). www.standwithus.com and www.facebook.com/standwithus and www.twitter.com/standwithus and www.instagram.com/standwithus
