Statement on irresponsible behaviour by Hertsmere Borough Council

On 9th December, the Herts Palestine Support Coalition sent the following statement to councillors at Hertfordshire County Council:

We’re aware that some at Hertfordshire County Council have faced shocking harassment from people opposing our call for the Hertfordshire Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) to end investments tied to human rights abuses.

In that context, we think it’s important to ask that HCC councillors stand collectively against irresponsible behaviour by Hertsmere Borough Council.

On 28 October, Hertsmere Borough Council issued a statement – signed by its Labour leader and his Lib Dem deputy – falsely claiming that our campaign seeks divestment “from Israel and companies connected to it”. That is untrue. We have no idea whether the Hertfordshire LGPS invests in Israel; it’s not something we have looked into. What we are calling for is divestment from seven firms – none of them Israeli – whose business activities are directly tied to grave human rights abuses. It is shameful that while county councillors were facing a campaign of intimidation, their colleagues in Hertsmere were aggravating the situation by spreading disinformation.

On 26 November, Hertsmere Borough Council passed a motion opposing our campaign that included further false or misleading statements:

• It again claimed we seek “divestment from companies linked to Israel”.
• It claimed our campaign is “singling out Israel unfairly”. In fact, we are clear that human rights commitments in the Hertfordshire LGPS Responsible Investment Policy must be applied consistently. If the scheme holds investments tied to illegal occupation, apartheid and atrocities elsewhere around the world, then it must address those too. We are not aware of any other such investments. It is telling that Hertsmere councillors have shown no interest in identifying any.
• It insinuated that decisions about such matters should account for “diverse community opinions”. The existence of human rights abuses and violations of international law is a matter for experts, not “community opinions”. There is overwhelming expert consensus that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories is illegal and that its treatment of Palestinians meets the legal definition of apartheid. That is confirmed by the International Court of Justice, countless UN experts, and the world’s leading human rights NGOs. It is a matter of public record that the firms highlighted by our campaign enable these abuses; one is even blacklisted by the UN for doing so. To say the Pensions Committee should defer to “diverse community opinions” makes a mockery of the Responsible Investment Policy. It is like saying implementation of the policy’s environmental clauses should account for residents’ “diverse opinions” about whether climate change is real.

Perhaps most shockingly, when we presented our petition to HCC on 21 October, Hertsmere councillors were involved in a counter-protest outside County Hall marked by abusive behaviour. Counter-protestors continually crossed security cordons to aggressively confront our supporters and were filmed singing “You can shove Palestine up your arse”. They surrounded some of our supporters and ripped up their placard. One Hertsmere councillor involved in tabling the recent motion was filmed shouting abuse, including “go to Gaza”. A senior figure in Hertsmere Conservatives was filmed giving our supporters a raised middle finger and calling them “scum”.

We’re sure you will agree that none of this reflects the principles of public life that are meant to guide local government, including integrity, honesty and leadership. While we will keep advocating for changes in how the Hertfordshire LGPS handles the issues highlighted by our campaign, we stand with councillors against disinformation and abuse.