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Agenda Item
3.1 27-0103 Subject: Ethical Investment Policy
From: Members Of The Public, Oakland Divest Committee
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Of The Oakland City Council (1) To Amend The City Of Oakland Investment Policy To Prohibit Investments Of City Funds Or Holding Any Investment Or Ownership Stake In Any Companies That Facilitate And Enable State Violence And Repression, War And Occupation, And/Or Severe Violations Of International Law And Human Rights. This Includes, But Is Not Limited To: (A) Mass Incarceration And Detention Industries, Including Those Which Use Prison Labor, (B) Security, Defense, And Military Industries, Including Transportation Of Goods, (C) Companies That Facilitate And Enable Violations Of International Law And Human Rights As Part Of The Israeli Occupation Of Palestinian And Syrian Lands And/Or As Part Of Israeli Apartheid;
(2) Directing The City Administrator Or His/Her Designee To Examine The City's Holdings And Future Investments To Assure That The City Complies With This Policy And Set Forth An Implementation Plan Shared At The First Finance Meeting In May 2027;
(3) Directing The City Administrator To Send A Copy Of The Resolution To Governmental Retirement Systems And Local Jurisdictions To Adopt A Similar Investment Policy; On The October 13, 2026 Finance And Management Committee Agenda
My name is Daya and I am a resident of Oakland District 1. I strong support divesting our tax dollars from genocide by amending Oakland’s investment policy to prohibit city investments in companies and financial institutions that enable state repression, war and human rights violations.
Cities have an obligation to hold Israel (and the U.S.) accountable to the law and to end Israeli violence. The genocide in Gaza continues, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in violation of the so-called ceasefire in October 2025. Israel also continues to severely restrict desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and reconstruction materials. Oakland currently sends over $6 million to Israel through federal tax dollars every year. U.S. financial support of Israel is a local issue where the council’s influence can make a true difference.
Oakland has a long history of supporting ethical investment. The Oakland community has been mobilizing in support of the Palestinian people week after week over the past year in support of the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo. Passing and implementing this legislation is urgent to ensure the City of Oakland is not complicit in human rights abuses. I urge you to vote yes and forward the legislation to the October 20th City Council meeting.
As a 10 year resident of D1, and an Arab American of Palestinian descent, I support the rules committee in forwarding the Legislation to the October 13th Finance Committee Meeting. Honor the UN flag that hangs in your, our, Council Chambers. The UN has found that Israel is committing genocide, as recent as June 2026. It is up to all of us, forced into complicity with our tax dollars, to uphold the intent of this institution, of the notion of universal human rights. Having spent my life witnessing the dehumanization of Palestinian people, and now this extreme atrocity, it is a gift to see Oakland residents working so hard to find a real, legal option to participate in taking action against genocide - as well as other human rights violations that affect the lives of people in our own boundaries - when each council member failed to introduce this ethical investment policy. Here's our chance:
prohibit investments in companies that facilitate and enable state violence, war, occupation, repression, or violations of international law and human rights, such as apartheid and genocide.
My name is Megan Phillips, a resident of Oakland. I support divesting our tax dollars from genocide by amending Oakland’s investment policy to prohibit city investments in companies and financial institutions that enable state repression, war and human rights violations. We must be people of conscience and support divestment.Thank you councilmembers.
I am an Oakland resident of more than 25 years, and I strongly oppose the proposed “Ethical Investment Policy
Oakland should absolutely have ethical standards for investing public funds, but those standards must be objective, consistent, and applied equally. This proposal instead singles out Israel the world’s only Jewish state—and companies connected to it for special treatment.
Whatever one’s views of the Israeli government or Gaza,Oakland should not turn its municipal investment policy into a vehicle for taking sides in one of the world’s most divisive geopolitical conflicts. If the City believes investments should be restricted based on human-rights abuses, war, or violations of international law, then establish universal criteria and apply them consistently to every country and company.
As a Jewish member of the Oakland community, I am deeply concerned about the message this sends. Israel is not simply an abstract foreign-policy issue for many Jewish residents. When Oakland singles out Israel while other countries involved in serious conflicts are not treated under the same standard, Jewish Oaklanders can reasonably experience that as unequal treatment.
Oakland should be a city where Jews feel they belong fully and equally—not one where our connection to Israel becomes grounds for exclusion.
I urge the City Council to reject Item 27-0103 and uphold the principle that ethical standards must be applied fairly and without singling out the world’s only Jewish state.
Oakland taxpayers should not fund the companies developing the weapons and infrastructure used for mass murder. We would outraged if Oakland invested in hand gun manufacturers. We should apply this same concern to investing in missile manufacturers and other weapons of mass murder. These weapons are not being used for defense, but to destroy indigenous people.
I am a 20+ year resident in D2. This ethical investment policy is harmful for Oakland, and Jewish and Israeli residents of Oakland. The discrimination and Jew-hatred is clear because the only nationality called out in this resolution is Israel and the 6 million Jews that live there with over 2 million Palestinian/Arab/Muslim citizens of Israel. From a non-discrimination bent, this policy will severely harm the investments for which the council has particular rules around how to invest for the public good. There are better ways to address human right violations than trying to implement this discriminatory policy in Oakland. Please oppose this measure and do not go down this path.
My name is Odette - I’ve owned a home in District 6 for 12 years and I've worked for non-profits for over 20 years.
I was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Oakland 20 years ago because there are limited places where I felt I could safely raise my kids, who have 2 moms and their primary language is Spanish.
I’m also the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. My dad was 6 years old, my son’s age now, when the Holocaust ended.
I think a lot about what ordinary people all over the world were doing as my dad was starving in a ghetto, while my grandfather was worked to death in a slave labor camp, while my grandmother was being marched to a concentration camp. I wonder what ordinary people were doing while 6 million Jews were being murdered. I think about what I can be doing while Palestinian children and families are being murdered in Gaza. Every kid in Palestine, my dad and my son - all deserve a safe place to live and grow.
I joined this campaign - because I learned that my city, council members, and ordinary people can do something that impacts - the genocide in Gaza, state violence, and public safety. I am standing up to offer my son a safe upbringing unlike my father, and advocate to make sure his city is standing up for what is right, while doing my part in providing Palestinian kids the safety they deserve.
On behalf of ordinary people in Oakland, please support this legislation and forward it to the October 13th Finance Committee.
I am a resident of Oakland, District 1 and I support forwarding the Ethical Investment Policy to the Finance Committee.
Oakland is not removed from the human rights violations occurring in the Middle East, and should not be financially enabling in those crimes. Oakland currently sends over $6 million to Israel through federal tax dollars every year. Overspending on militarism abroad has contributed to the historic neglect of cities like Oakland. Divestment would send a clear message to federal elected officials that have supported/been neutral to the genocide and to corporations that profit from it.
There is strong public support for this resolution. The Oakland community overwhelmingly supported the City Council in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which ultimately passed unanimously in 2023. Since then, the Oakland community has mobilized in support of the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo, which was endorsed by Mayor Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Supervisor Nikki Bas, and Port Commissioner Alvina Wong. This ethical investment policy legislation itself is the result of ongoing dialogue with unions, faith organizations, and community members.
Divestment is not unprecedented. Oakland has previously adopted legislation divesting from South Africa, Nigeria, and Burma due to human rights abuses. These divestments did not have a fiscal impact and allowed Oakland to re-direct investments to more ethical entities.
On behalf of your 10,000 Yemeni constituents and the Oakland Muslim community, we ask that you please schedule and support this ethical investment legislation moving forward. Oakland of all places should not support companies invested in gross human rights violations, prison labor, or the killing of our families and friends through AI-assisted airstrikes in Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Microsoft's Azure enables the Israeli military to bomb and terrorize our relatives across mutiple countries at the click of a button, with little to no human oversight. This same technology is responsible for the Minab elementary school strike that killed 168 children in Iran.
It was great to see councilmembers Jenkins and Unger to bring forward and support the No War on Iran Ordinance earlier this year, so hopefully we can see the same support for the ethical investment policy being brought forward by Oakland Divest. It would be an insult to the Oaklanders who came before us that supported divestment from apartheid South Africa and Myanmar to not support this and stand on the side of oppression and the crimes against humanity that have deeply traumatized your Muslim, Palestinian, Yemeni, Lebanese, Syrian and Iranian constituents for YEARS. There is NOTHING divisive about standing for justice for the thousands of innocent lives that have been stolen from our communities.
I'm writing in support of the Ethical Investment Policy.
Public investments are a statement of public values. This resolution would ensure Oakland's funds are not invested in companies that enable mass incarceration and prison labor, that profit from war and the military industry, or that facilitate violations of international law and human rights as part of Israel's occupation of Palestinian and Syrian lands. Oakland residents should not be made financial partners in any of these harms.
The policy is also workable. It doesn't demand overnight divestment. Instead, it directs the City Administrator to review current holdings and present an implementation plan by May 2027, giving staff time to do this carefully and responsibly. Cities and pension funds across the country already use screened investment strategies.
Oakland has done this before. In the 1980s, the city divested from companies doing business with apartheid South Africa, and its ordinance was strong enough that other cities used it as a model. By sharing this resolution with retirement systems and other jurisdictions, Oakland can set that example again.
as a Oakland teacher I ask you to please divest Oakland's public funds from companies profiting from genocide, weapons manufacturing, and human rights abuses. Oakland tax dollars should align with city values, human rights, and social justice. Public funds belong in community safety, affordable housing, and local public services.
This proposal appeared on a supplemental agenda with extraordinarily little notice. The City’s published procedure calls for agenda-item requests three weeks before the requested meeting. The public deserves to know when this was submitted and why it is being expedited.
More troubling is the substance. This supposedly universal human-rights policy singles out one country by name: Israel. It labels Israel “apartheid” and targets it for alleged violations, including in the context of a war begun by Hamas’s October 7 attack. Israel is a democracy where Arab citizens vote, form political parties and serve in the Knesset.
Meanwhile, extensively documented atrocities and grave abuses in China, Iran, Syria, Congo and elsewhere go unnamed. Why is the world’s only Jewish state uniquely written into Oakland law? And if Oakland truly applied this standard universally, how many companies and investments would have to be excluded, and at what financial cost to the City?
Applying a uniquely harsh standard to Israel while ignoring comparable or worse conduct by other countries is not a neutral human-rights principle. Singling out the world’s only Jewish state in this way can reflect prejudice against Jews, especially when criticism of Israel is framed as a judgment that is not applied consistently to any other country.
Do not single out the Jewish state and thereby other Oakland’s Jewish community in the name of human rights.
I support this resolution being scheduled to a Finance Committee in October. This legislation has come from a broad community effort over two years and is now being put forward by Oakland Divest Committee, American Friends Service Committee, Council On American-Islamic Relations-San Francisco Bay Area, Lighthouse Mosque, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue, Yempali Collective, Nafeer Collective, Oakland Education Association (OEA), United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 6, United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2320, 1021 Members For Palestine, Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine, Party For Socialism And Liberation, East Bay Democratic Socialists Of America, Black Organizing Project and more labor unions, faith groups and local to national organizations continue to join everyday. The diverse coalition reflects the will and effort of hundreds of Oaklanders and aligns with many more!
Investments not only protect financial resources, but also reflect the city’s values. Investments of public funds should reflect the responsibility of a city government to its citizens, and we should not bank roll harm and suffering of oppressed people anywhere in the world.
I am a resident of Oakland District 3 and work in the Oakland District 2. I strongly support the implementation of an ethical investment policy because passing and implementing this legislation is urgent to ensure that Oakland is not complicit in human rights abuses.
Oakland should not be investing in companies that facilitate war, occupation, state violence, repression, or violations of international law and human rights. Specifically, this includes companies that enable Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestinians, military and defense companies (including companies that transport military goods), and companies involved in mass incarceration and detention (including companies that use prison labor).
Councilmembers, please support this legislation and forward it to the October 13th Finance Committee meeting. Thank you!
My name is Sean Funcheon, and I am a resident of the city of Oakland. I urge the City Council to support the proposed investment policy standard that prohibits city investments in companies and financial institutions that enable state repression, war, and human rights violations, including those facilitating Israeli apartheid and genocide.
Oakland has a proud history of taking a stand for human rights and responsible investing—from our past divestment ordinances regarding South Africa to our precedents on fossil fuels and firearms. Yet, our city currently has $20 million invested in Microsoft, whose products and services are utilized by the Israeli military for surveillance and targeting systems
Passing this legislation is a crucial step to ensure our public funds reflect our values of community well-being and the "Love Life" motto, rather than enabling violence and destruction. I urge the council to vote in favor of advancing this legislation.
I am an Oakland resident of over 13 years, and I support this agenda item because it aligns with what the majority of people of Oakland believe in- that our city should make it known that we do not support genocidal efforts anywhere, and do so by amending our city investment policy to ensure that Oakland never supports genocidal companies from now through the future. I am honored to be a resident of Oakland in large part due to its history of strong community support and fights for justice here and worldwide, and I am know these issues affect our city and it’s residents. This is a local issue, and we want to be on the right side of history. This legislation is a major step in that direction. Let’s continue to follow our city’s legacy and pass this legislation. Thank you, Rules committee members.
I am in support of the Ethical Investment Policy. Oakland is currently complicit in human rights abuses through it's investment in Microsoft, which supports and enables apartheid and genocide in Occupied Palestine through the use of it's products and services by the Israeli military, as well as human rights abuses committed by ICE. The genocide in Gaza continues, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in violation of the so-called ceasefire in October 2025. Israel also continues to severely restrict desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and reconstruction materials. Oakland has a long precedent of calling for a more ethical, just world, it lead the US in divesting from Apartheid South Africa in the 80s, it's time for Oakland to implement comprehensive prohibitions on companies that facilitate and profit off severe human rights abuses. Please schedule this very important legislation to the October 13th Finance Committee meeting.
My name is Daya and I am a resident of Oakland District 1. I strong support divesting our tax dollars from genocide by amending Oakland’s investment policy to prohibit city investments in companies and financial institutions that enable state repression, war and human rights violations.
Cities have an obligation to hold Israel (and the U.S.) accountable to the law and to end Israeli violence. The genocide in Gaza continues, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in violation of the so-called ceasefire in October 2025. Israel also continues to severely restrict desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and reconstruction materials. Oakland currently sends over $6 million to Israel through federal tax dollars every year. U.S. financial support of Israel is a local issue where the council’s influence can make a true difference.
Oakland has a long history of supporting ethical investment. The Oakland community has been mobilizing in support of the Palestinian people week after week over the past year in support of the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo. Passing and implementing this legislation is urgent to ensure the City of Oakland is not complicit in human rights abuses. I urge you to vote yes and forward the legislation to the October 20th City Council meeting.
As a 10 year resident of D1, and an Arab American of Palestinian descent, I support the rules committee in forwarding the Legislation to the October 13th Finance Committee Meeting. Honor the UN flag that hangs in your, our, Council Chambers. The UN has found that Israel is committing genocide, as recent as June 2026. It is up to all of us, forced into complicity with our tax dollars, to uphold the intent of this institution, of the notion of universal human rights. Having spent my life witnessing the dehumanization of Palestinian people, and now this extreme atrocity, it is a gift to see Oakland residents working so hard to find a real, legal option to participate in taking action against genocide - as well as other human rights violations that affect the lives of people in our own boundaries - when each council member failed to introduce this ethical investment policy. Here's our chance:
prohibit investments in companies that facilitate and enable state violence, war, occupation, repression, or violations of international law and human rights, such as apartheid and genocide.
My name is Megan Phillips, a resident of Oakland. I support divesting our tax dollars from genocide by amending Oakland’s investment policy to prohibit city investments in companies and financial institutions that enable state repression, war and human rights violations. We must be people of conscience and support divestment.Thank you councilmembers.
I am an Oakland resident of more than 25 years, and I strongly oppose the proposed “Ethical Investment Policy
Oakland should absolutely have ethical standards for investing public funds, but those standards must be objective, consistent, and applied equally. This proposal instead singles out Israel the world’s only Jewish state—and companies connected to it for special treatment.
Whatever one’s views of the Israeli government or Gaza,Oakland should not turn its municipal investment policy into a vehicle for taking sides in one of the world’s most divisive geopolitical conflicts. If the City believes investments should be restricted based on human-rights abuses, war, or violations of international law, then establish universal criteria and apply them consistently to every country and company.
As a Jewish member of the Oakland community, I am deeply concerned about the message this sends. Israel is not simply an abstract foreign-policy issue for many Jewish residents. When Oakland singles out Israel while other countries involved in serious conflicts are not treated under the same standard, Jewish Oaklanders can reasonably experience that as unequal treatment.
Oakland should be a city where Jews feel they belong fully and equally—not one where our connection to Israel becomes grounds for exclusion.
I urge the City Council to reject Item 27-0103 and uphold the principle that ethical standards must be applied fairly and without singling out the world’s only Jewish state.
Oakland taxpayers should not fund the companies developing the weapons and infrastructure used for mass murder. We would outraged if Oakland invested in hand gun manufacturers. We should apply this same concern to investing in missile manufacturers and other weapons of mass murder. These weapons are not being used for defense, but to destroy indigenous people.
I am a 20+ year resident in D2. This ethical investment policy is harmful for Oakland, and Jewish and Israeli residents of Oakland. The discrimination and Jew-hatred is clear because the only nationality called out in this resolution is Israel and the 6 million Jews that live there with over 2 million Palestinian/Arab/Muslim citizens of Israel. From a non-discrimination bent, this policy will severely harm the investments for which the council has particular rules around how to invest for the public good. There are better ways to address human right violations than trying to implement this discriminatory policy in Oakland. Please oppose this measure and do not go down this path.
My name is Odette - I’ve owned a home in District 6 for 12 years and I've worked for non-profits for over 20 years.
I was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Oakland 20 years ago because there are limited places where I felt I could safely raise my kids, who have 2 moms and their primary language is Spanish.
I’m also the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. My dad was 6 years old, my son’s age now, when the Holocaust ended.
I think a lot about what ordinary people all over the world were doing as my dad was starving in a ghetto, while my grandfather was worked to death in a slave labor camp, while my grandmother was being marched to a concentration camp. I wonder what ordinary people were doing while 6 million Jews were being murdered. I think about what I can be doing while Palestinian children and families are being murdered in Gaza. Every kid in Palestine, my dad and my son - all deserve a safe place to live and grow.
I joined this campaign - because I learned that my city, council members, and ordinary people can do something that impacts - the genocide in Gaza, state violence, and public safety. I am standing up to offer my son a safe upbringing unlike my father, and advocate to make sure his city is standing up for what is right, while doing my part in providing Palestinian kids the safety they deserve.
On behalf of ordinary people in Oakland, please support this legislation and forward it to the October 13th Finance Committee.
I am a resident of Oakland, District 1 and I support forwarding the Ethical Investment Policy to the Finance Committee.
Oakland is not removed from the human rights violations occurring in the Middle East, and should not be financially enabling in those crimes. Oakland currently sends over $6 million to Israel through federal tax dollars every year. Overspending on militarism abroad has contributed to the historic neglect of cities like Oakland. Divestment would send a clear message to federal elected officials that have supported/been neutral to the genocide and to corporations that profit from it.
There is strong public support for this resolution. The Oakland community overwhelmingly supported the City Council in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which ultimately passed unanimously in 2023. Since then, the Oakland community has mobilized in support of the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo, which was endorsed by Mayor Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Supervisor Nikki Bas, and Port Commissioner Alvina Wong. This ethical investment policy legislation itself is the result of ongoing dialogue with unions, faith organizations, and community members.
Divestment is not unprecedented. Oakland has previously adopted legislation divesting from South Africa, Nigeria, and Burma due to human rights abuses. These divestments did not have a fiscal impact and allowed Oakland to re-direct investments to more ethical entities.
I urge the council to vote yes on this item.
On behalf of your 10,000 Yemeni constituents and the Oakland Muslim community, we ask that you please schedule and support this ethical investment legislation moving forward. Oakland of all places should not support companies invested in gross human rights violations, prison labor, or the killing of our families and friends through AI-assisted airstrikes in Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Microsoft's Azure enables the Israeli military to bomb and terrorize our relatives across mutiple countries at the click of a button, with little to no human oversight. This same technology is responsible for the Minab elementary school strike that killed 168 children in Iran.
It was great to see councilmembers Jenkins and Unger to bring forward and support the No War on Iran Ordinance earlier this year, so hopefully we can see the same support for the ethical investment policy being brought forward by Oakland Divest. It would be an insult to the Oaklanders who came before us that supported divestment from apartheid South Africa and Myanmar to not support this and stand on the side of oppression and the crimes against humanity that have deeply traumatized your Muslim, Palestinian, Yemeni, Lebanese, Syrian and Iranian constituents for YEARS. There is NOTHING divisive about standing for justice for the thousands of innocent lives that have been stolen from our communities.
I'm writing in support of the Ethical Investment Policy.
Public investments are a statement of public values. This resolution would ensure Oakland's funds are not invested in companies that enable mass incarceration and prison labor, that profit from war and the military industry, or that facilitate violations of international law and human rights as part of Israel's occupation of Palestinian and Syrian lands. Oakland residents should not be made financial partners in any of these harms.
The policy is also workable. It doesn't demand overnight divestment. Instead, it directs the City Administrator to review current holdings and present an implementation plan by May 2027, giving staff time to do this carefully and responsibly. Cities and pension funds across the country already use screened investment strategies.
Oakland has done this before. In the 1980s, the city divested from companies doing business with apartheid South Africa, and its ordinance was strong enough that other cities used it as a model. By sharing this resolution with retirement systems and other jurisdictions, Oakland can set that example again.
Please vote yes on Item 3.1.
as a Oakland teacher I ask you to please divest Oakland's public funds from companies profiting from genocide, weapons manufacturing, and human rights abuses. Oakland tax dollars should align with city values, human rights, and social justice. Public funds belong in community safety, affordable housing, and local public services.
I oppose scheduling Item 3.1 for October 13.
This proposal appeared on a supplemental agenda with extraordinarily little notice. The City’s published procedure calls for agenda-item requests three weeks before the requested meeting. The public deserves to know when this was submitted and why it is being expedited.
More troubling is the substance. This supposedly universal human-rights policy singles out one country by name: Israel. It labels Israel “apartheid” and targets it for alleged violations, including in the context of a war begun by Hamas’s October 7 attack. Israel is a democracy where Arab citizens vote, form political parties and serve in the Knesset.
Meanwhile, extensively documented atrocities and grave abuses in China, Iran, Syria, Congo and elsewhere go unnamed. Why is the world’s only Jewish state uniquely written into Oakland law? And if Oakland truly applied this standard universally, how many companies and investments would have to be excluded, and at what financial cost to the City?
Applying a uniquely harsh standard to Israel while ignoring comparable or worse conduct by other countries is not a neutral human-rights principle. Singling out the world’s only Jewish state in this way can reflect prejudice against Jews, especially when criticism of Israel is framed as a judgment that is not applied consistently to any other country.
Do not single out the Jewish state and thereby other Oakland’s Jewish community in the name of human rights.
I support this resolution being scheduled to a Finance Committee in October. This legislation has come from a broad community effort over two years and is now being put forward by Oakland Divest Committee, American Friends Service Committee, Council On American-Islamic Relations-San Francisco Bay Area, Lighthouse Mosque, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue, Yempali Collective, Nafeer Collective, Oakland Education Association (OEA), United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 6, United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2320, 1021 Members For Palestine, Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine, Party For Socialism And Liberation, East Bay Democratic Socialists Of America, Black Organizing Project and more labor unions, faith groups and local to national organizations continue to join everyday. The diverse coalition reflects the will and effort of hundreds of Oaklanders and aligns with many more!
Investments not only protect financial resources, but also reflect the city’s values. Investments of public funds should reflect the responsibility of a city government to its citizens, and we should not bank roll harm and suffering of oppressed people anywhere in the world.
I am a resident of Oakland District 3 and work in the Oakland District 2. I strongly support the implementation of an ethical investment policy because passing and implementing this legislation is urgent to ensure that Oakland is not complicit in human rights abuses.
Oakland should not be investing in companies that facilitate war, occupation, state violence, repression, or violations of international law and human rights. Specifically, this includes companies that enable Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestinians, military and defense companies (including companies that transport military goods), and companies involved in mass incarceration and detention (including companies that use prison labor).
Councilmembers, please support this legislation and forward it to the October 13th Finance Committee meeting. Thank you!
My name is Sean Funcheon, and I am a resident of the city of Oakland. I urge the City Council to support the proposed investment policy standard that prohibits city investments in companies and financial institutions that enable state repression, war, and human rights violations, including those facilitating Israeli apartheid and genocide.
Oakland has a proud history of taking a stand for human rights and responsible investing—from our past divestment ordinances regarding South Africa to our precedents on fossil fuels and firearms. Yet, our city currently has $20 million invested in Microsoft, whose products and services are utilized by the Israeli military for surveillance and targeting systems
Passing this legislation is a crucial step to ensure our public funds reflect our values of community well-being and the "Love Life" motto, rather than enabling violence and destruction. I urge the council to vote in favor of advancing this legislation.
I am an Oakland resident of over 13 years, and I support this agenda item because it aligns with what the majority of people of Oakland believe in- that our city should make it known that we do not support genocidal efforts anywhere, and do so by amending our city investment policy to ensure that Oakland never supports genocidal companies from now through the future. I am honored to be a resident of Oakland in large part due to its history of strong community support and fights for justice here and worldwide, and I am know these issues affect our city and it’s residents. This is a local issue, and we want to be on the right side of history. This legislation is a major step in that direction. Let’s continue to follow our city’s legacy and pass this legislation. Thank you, Rules committee members.
I am in support of the Ethical Investment Policy. Oakland is currently complicit in human rights abuses through it's investment in Microsoft, which supports and enables apartheid and genocide in Occupied Palestine through the use of it's products and services by the Israeli military, as well as human rights abuses committed by ICE. The genocide in Gaza continues, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in violation of the so-called ceasefire in October 2025. Israel also continues to severely restrict desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and reconstruction materials. Oakland has a long precedent of calling for a more ethical, just world, it lead the US in divesting from Apartheid South Africa in the 80s, it's time for Oakland to implement comprehensive prohibitions on companies that facilitate and profit off severe human rights abuses. Please schedule this very important legislation to the October 13th Finance Committee meeting.