Israel’s Gaza Invasion Sparks Global Outcry and Minnesota Faces Pressure to Divest

Right now, Israel is executing a ground invasion of Gaza City that could displace up to 1 million Palestinians and fuel the ongoing genocide. Gaza City is the last major population center in the Gaza Strip with any form of infrastructure.

International outrage is growing: Germany has halted weapons shipments to Israel, U.S. lawmakers are demanding a ceasefire, and even Israeli rights groups now accuse their government of genocide. The death toll in Gaza has topped 61,000, with famine and disease spreading under Israel’s blockade.

Yet in Minnesota, the State Board of Investment (SBI)—which manages billions in public pensions—has stalled. An estimated $5.4 billion remains invested in Israel bonds, weapons manufacturers, and corporations linked to the assault on Gaza. The board, chaired by Governor Tim Walz, has now delayed or restricted four consecutive meetings, including the one scheduled for August 20.

The Anti-War Committee says since late 2023, public employees and community members have flooded SBI meetings demanding divestment. The SIB is made up of (L to R): Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Secretary of State Steve Simon and State Auditor Julie Blaha

“They’re Trying to Wait It Out”

Wyatt Miller of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee says the SBI is deliberately avoiding public pressure. “I think they’re trying to hide from the issue, to weather the storm and wait for it to blow over,” Wyatt told BLCK Press. “That’s fundamentally misguided. When we’re talking about genocide, it’s not something people will forget once the media cycle moves on. Outrage is only going to grow.”

Wyatt said activists have heard from with Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha, and Secretary of State Steve Simon—but not Governor Walz. The conversations, he said, reveal a pattern of shifting excuses.

“Sometimes they claim they literally don’t have the power to divest. When we point out they can, it becomes that it’s politically impossible,” he explained. “To us, it’s just a litany of excuses—a lack of political courage and moral clarity.”

A Precedent of Divestment

For the Anti-War Committee, Minnesota’s history makes the inaction harder to defend. In 1985, the SBI divested from apartheid South Africa. Wyatt notes how the situation in Gaza today is strikingly similar.

“Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others have said Israel meets the legal definition of an apartheid system. Minnesota had the clarity to divest from apartheid South Africa in the ’80s. It should follow through now with apartheid Israel.”

Wyatt also pointed to a turning tide internationally, as Israel intensifies bombardment of Gaza City.

“We’re at a moment where there’s no more denying what Israel is doing is genocidal,” he said. “Even traditional allies of Israel are starting to distance themselves, because it’s a political liability. The images of starvation and the rhetoric of Israeli leaders are indefensible.”

Still, he expressed hope:

“It’s a basic fact of politics that those in power say no—until they don’t. Our job is to build a movement that makes ‘no’ impossible, by taking to the streets and refusing to let business go on as usual.”

Protest Planned at Governor’s Residence

On Tuesday, August 19 at 5:30 p.m., the Anti-War Committee, MN Labor for Palestine and the Free Palestine Coalition will rally outside the Governor’s Residence in Saint Paul. Organizers say Minnesota’s pension dollars should not bankroll war, and that the SBI’s delays are only deepening the state’s complicity.