Maryland Workers Are Fighting to Divest Their Pensions From Israel's Genocide

"On a cold, sunny morning in October, Grace Smith, a 42-year-old Baltimore County middle school teacher, arrived at the annual statewide teachers union convention in Ocean City, Maryland, with two fellow educators and a folder full of zines. Their mission: talk to as many teachers as possible about Maryland's pension investments in Israel and hand out every copy they'd brought."

"As part of a national movement to end U.S. complicity in Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Maryland Break the Bonds produced the zine to explain how Israel finances its genocide in Gaza and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank by selling "Israel Bonds," and how, according to information gleaned through FOIA requests, the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS) holds more than $70 million in these bonds despite recent credit downgrades and a growing divestment push."

Grace Smith and fellow educators distributed over 200 zines at a statewide teachers union convention to expose Maryland's pension investments in Israel. Maryland Break the Bonds produced the zine explaining how Israel sells Israel Bonds to finance military operations in Gaza and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. FOIA information shows the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System holds more than $70 million in those bonds despite credit downgrades and divestment pressures. The campaign demands that the pension system divest from Israel Bonds and reinvest in Maryland, targeting the system's 420,000 members.

Read at Truthout