Jewish Elites Force Californians to support Israel through their pension funds

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=183765&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0

LOS ANGELES - California Gov. Gray Davis assured Israeli officials on Friday
that he would not yield to any political pressure to divest the state's pension fund
of its Israeli holdings.

Speaking on the day after an Egyptian gunman fatally shot two Israelis at the El
Al ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport, Davis pledged the state's
ongoing economic support for Israel.

Davis, a Democrat who is running for reelection in November, made the
statement at a meeting with Jewish leaders at the Jewish Federation of Los
Angeles following a telephone conference with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"To those critics in California that would have us divest our pension ... as long
as the people of California want me to be governor, we will be doing business
with Israel," Davis told Jewish leaders as well as reporters.

Arab leaders in California have criticized administrators of the California Public
Employees Retirement System, or Calpers, for continuing to invest in Israel
despite the country's escalating violence with Palestinians and the giant
pension fund's own rules about socially responsible investing.

"Arab groups have asked (Calpers) to withdraw their investments because they
say Israel isn't working towards peace," said Davis' spokesman Steve Maviglio.

With $149.3 billion in assets, Calpers is the largest public pension fund in the
United States and No. 3 worldwide. The fund is independently run and the
governor has no direct say in its investment policy although he appoints two of
its 12 board members.

Calpers holds $143.5 million in Israeli government bonds, according to Calpers
data. The fund also had $8.9 million in equity investment in Israel, a spokesman
said.

In 2001, California exported $812 million worth of goods to Israel, making it the
state's 21st largest trading partner, according to state statistics.

Davis promised that Californians "do stand behind Israel and do cherish similar
values and ... we do understand that they are our strongest ally in a troubled
region."

The governor said he drafted a letter to the Board of Regents of the University of
California System asking regents "to take steps against violence and
hate-driven rhetoric on those campuses."

Violence erupted on two California college campuses last month when
pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed, Maviglio said.

Davis and Sharon also discussed the shooting deaths Thursday of two Israeli
natives at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International
Airport.

A security guard employed by Israeli airline El Al fatally shot the Egyptian
gunman.

Although U.S. law enforcement officials on Friday classified the shooting
rampage as an isolated incident, the Israeli government viewed it as a terrorist
attack.

"I want to reiterate that local law enforcement and the FBI believe it is an isolated
incident but they haven't ruled anything out," Davis said. "I told him once the
investigation is completed that if additional security measures are required that
we will inform him."

The governor reiterated a formal U.S. policy outlined by President George W.
Bush last week urging Palestinians to remove Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat.

"I hope Palestinians will choose new leadership that will focus on improving the
lives of Palestinians ... not destroying the lives of Israelis," Davis said.