One of the world’s leading insurance firms appears to be imposing a “silent boycott” by divesting from the Israeli economy in response to a long running pro-Palestine pressure campaign, politicians have told the JC.
French company Axa is reported to have removed around £15 million of investment from three Israeli banks that the United Nations claims are complicit in supporting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Crossbench peer Lord Walney said the insurance giant’s decision would only invite more intimidation by activist campaigns.
Lord Austin condemned the campaign of “delegitimisation” against Israel and said he would write to Axa’s chairman to ask why they had slashed their investments.
The firm’s decision comes after an eight-year campaign launched by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories, provide full equality for Arab citizens of Israel and grant the right of return to Palestinian refugees.
BDS activists claim Axa is “deeply complicit” in illegal settlement construction thanks to its investment in three major Israeli banks – Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot – in addition to Elbit Systems, a defence manufacturer.
While the insurance firm sold its Elbit shares in 2018, it remained invested in the financial institutions. According to a UN database compiled in 2020, all three are involved in Israel’s settlement activity.
In a verdict issued earlier this year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank was illegal under international law.
According to a report compiled by financial research group Profundo and published by Ekō, a campaign organisation, Axa engaged in a “clear, fast, and intentional divestment” from Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, and Israel Discount Bank.
Axa is claimed to have sold off 2.5 million shares, with $20.4 million, or £15 million, between September 30 of last year and June 24 of this year.
Axa had, meanwhile, not reinvested in the First International Bank of Israel or Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank since 2022.
While Axa still had “trade amounts” of investment in Bank Leumi, this is likely only down to some remaining reporting and internal accounting that is yet to be done, the report said.
“This win is a testament to public pressure and what happens when people mobilise against financial actors complicit in Israeli war crimes,” Daphne Cronin, a senior campaigner at Ekō, told Middle East Eye.
In a press release, the official BDS campaign hailed Axa’s move as a “major win” for human rights activists.
Lord Walney told the JC: “Whether Israel or climate change, it is almost always a mistake for companies to think the best course of action is to accede quietly to the boycott demands of militant activists.
“They may think they are preserving business success by opting for the path of least resistance when in fact they are broadcasting a lack of resilience and grounding values that makes them more vulnerable to further pressure.
“If you quietly hand over your lunch money to the school bully, he doesn’t say, ‘Fair enough, I will be nice to you from now on’ – instead, you are advertising your vulnerability to more shakedowns.”
Lord Austin said: “It would be very worrying if a major financial institution like Axa were withdrawing its investment from Israel as a result of pressure from anti-Israel obsessed activists.
“I’ll be writing to Axa’s chairman to ask why they have ended their investments with Israeli banks. This appears to be a silent boycott of Israel driven by a long running campaign of delegitimisation.”
Axa has so far refused to comment on claims that it disinvested due to the anti-Israel pressure campaign.
The company has instead pointed reporters to a statement made in April of this year by CEO Thomas Buberl in which he denied the company held shares in Israeli banks.
Axa “does not have any investments in Israeli banks… targeted by boycott calls currently led by some activist groups against several companies. I would like to strongly condemn the physical attacks suffered by our agents and employees in some countries by the group supporting the boycott of Israel. These acts of vandalism are unjustifiable and unjustified… Axa does not take a position on this serious geopolitical crisis. Our thoughts are with the civilian victims,” he said.
Axa was contacted for comment.
