A group of about 20 pro-Palestinian activists held a press conference in the rotunda of the Minnesota Capitol Monday afternoon, claiming victory in the attempt to force the Minnesota State Board of Investment to divest from Israeli Bonds or companies doing business in Israel.
However, the SBI says that “divestment” never happened.
“Contrary to statements from the organization referenced in your inquiry, the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) has not changed its investment policy regarding permitted investments,” the SBI said in response to a media inquiry. “The SBI hires professional, third-party institutional investment managers to make investment decisions at the individual security level. These holdings are not static.”
The SBI was created in the state’s constitution to administer and direct the investment of state funds and pension funds.
According to the Statement of Purpose of the SBI, as laid out by state statute, “Is to establish standards … to ensure that state and pension assets subject to this legislation will be responsibly invested to maximize the total rate of return without incurring undue risk.” The SBI membership is made up the four constitutional officers in Minnesota – the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and auditor.
In promoting the event on Instagram late last week, the Anti-War Committee and a handful of other organizations claim that the reduction in bond-holdings was a “victory for pension-holders and community activists who have pressured the SBI to divest from Israel Bonds for more than a decade.”
The group said that after reviewing SBI records obtained in a data request, “That history revealed that after peaking at $13.3 million in December of 2020, the SBI has sold all of its Israel Bonds – that we know of – except for one $470,000 bond. The bonds that the SBI purchased between 2021 and 2023 were sold at a loss of $830,000.”
But according to the SBI, “The recent reduction in the dollar value of the SBI’s current Israeli bond holdings largely reflects the maturity and repayment in full of an Israeli sovereign bond with a 10-year term on July 1, 2025.”
The fund manager reports that Israeli stocks, bonds and private investments represent about one-tenth of 1 percent of the SBI’s $157.6 billion in total assets as of Sept. 30, 2025, or about $160 million. Divest Minnesota is claiming that $5.6 billion is invested in companies that have business in Israel.
It seems that in response to reporter inquiries about our press conference, the SBI put out a statement that they have not changed their policy with respect to investment in Israel.
They did not say that our claims that they are selling the bonds are false. They said they haven’t changed their policy.
Zionists (those who are pro-Israel) seem to read this as GOOD FOR ISRAEL, and BAD FOR BDS. The OPPOSITE is true.
If they are selling these bonds for purely financial reasons, which is likely the case, the sales reflect a recognition of the reality of Israel’s economic situation.
The bonds have been downgraded twice. It is likely the SBI has a policy that they cannot hold bonds with a rating below some threshold. Any responsible investor would have such a policy. It is possible that with the last downgrade the bonds hit this threshold. If not, it is likely that with the next downgrade they will hit the threshold and the SBI is getting out ahead of a mad rush to sell. That is prudent.
They did NOT say that we are wrong, and they are NOT selling. They said they didn’t change their policy. They claimed to hold more bonds then we claim they hold because they shared data through the end of September and we know they sold a bond on October 9th. This could also be considered a disingenuous attempt to paint us as dishonest. We are honestly reporting the data they shared. They are employing smoke and mirrors to make reality look other than how it is.