Also published in Mondoweiss: After slow divestment, Canada’s Scotiabank quietly reinvests in Israel’s genocide – Mondoweiss
For almost two years, activists in Vancouver and across Canada have been out on the streets demanding that Scotiabank divest completely from Israeli company Elbit Systems. Many sectors became involved in the campaign, from solidarity groups to artists, all to demand an end to this unholy alliance of a big bank with an Israeli arms company actively fueling genocide.
It’s been a roller-coast ride of two steps forward, one step back. At the end of 2022, Scotiabank’s 1832 Asset Management Fund owned 5% of Elbit Systems worth almost $500 million US. Since then, it gradually divested much of its shares and at the end of September 2024, it was down to just $118 million.
Like many others, I was encouraged by the strong response from the public, most of whom were horrified when they learnt that their mutual funds or retirement savings might directly be helping to kill Palestinians. There were flash sit-ins inside bank branches, multiple national Days of Action and a highly visible campaign from the arts community that even resulted in the Giller Prize finally dissociating itself from Scotiabank in February 2025.
Their ‘incremental divestment’ was less dramatic than a complete withdrawal of funding all at one time and allowed the bank to even pretend that their decision was based on ‘investment merit’. This strategy, coupled with the Giller Prize victory, eventually led to less public focus on Scotiabank’s complicity with genocide and war crimes in recent months.
However, as soon as Scotiabank felt they were no longer under constant scrutiny, they reversed course and started to quietly reinvest in Elbit. As noted by Canada Palestine Association/CPA in a May 9, 2025 statement: “…the last quarter of 2024 brought the news of a shift in their strategy, as they grabbed more Elbit stock which was valued at the time of reporting to be worth $180 million US. However, Elbit share prices have been on an upward trajectory since late January of this year…”
In fact, 1832 Asset Management’s latest filing for the first quarter of 2025 showed that their Elbit shares were worth $268 million US. This amount actually exceeded the dollar amount of their investment a year ago. Although Elbit stocks are currently dropping, their stock price is still almost double what it was in May of 2024.
The CPA statement went on to conclude: “Although their partial divestments were noteworthy, this simply proves that we can never have faith in multinational corporations to do the ethical thing. War, death and destruction are good for the bottom line! And even though the protests temporarily affected that bottom line, Scotiabank was able to navigate its way out of the public eye…”
Divest the Rest!
But Canadian activists are refusing to be discouraged by this and are regrouping to push the campaign forward with increased momentum. The new website SBFundsGenocide.ca is actively working towards a new day of action on June 14 and are hoping to target as many branches as possible all on the same day. They also just held a nation-wide webinar on May 21 to explain the history of Scotiabank’s complicity, its ups and downs and what needs to happen now.
Elbit management was quick to brag when releasing its 2024 results that: “The Company has secured significant contracts worldwide, with its advanced technologies achieving major successes and milestones alongside investments in R&D and production infrastructure.”
However, their financial reports have also noted that “some of Elbit’s operations have experienced disruptions due to supply chain and operational constraints… increase in transportation costs and delays due to factors such as the Houthi movement attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, material and component shortages, limitations imposed by some countries on exports to Israel and attacks on some of Elbit’s global facilities by anti-Israeli organizations.”
Palestine Action in the UK has shown all of us the way forward with their longevity and consistent direct-action campaigns, no matter the partial victories or the personal costs to their members. Despite arrests, imprisonment and other repressive measures, they have demonstrated that long-term persistence produces results. When we demand complete divestment, we must be ready to fight for that no matter the tactics from Elbit and its investors and no matter how long it takes.
(New article by Marion Kawas)
Cover photo Michael YC Tseng
