About this campaign

In the summer of 2024, teachers from several unions in the San Francisco- Bay Area, California discovered that CalSTRS, an educators-only state pension fund worth approximately $367.7 billion as of June 30, 2025​​. That is $26 billion more than it was worth when our campaign started just one year before in June 2024. Researchers have identified over $1.1 billion dollars invested in entities that uphold the illegal occupation of Palestine and the ongoing Gaza genocide, including companies that develop bombs, munitions, military aircraft, and surveillance technologies, as well as Israeli bonds and Israeli banks located in illegal settlements. We are building grassroots power to pressure CalSTRS adhere to their existing ethical investment policy framework (the ESG policy) and immediately withdraw our monies from companies that enable and facilitate illegal military occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide. 

Since October 2023, over 50,000 children in Gaza have been either killed or injured, over 17,000 have been orphaned or separated from their families, and more than 1,000 have lost one or both legs. Furthermore, about 90% of schools and all universities in Gaza have been destroyed in a gross act of scholasticide, depriving children of their right to education. The entire population is at risk of starvation. CalSTRS' investments in companies like Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Elbit Systems, and Caterpillar enable the oppression and mass murder of Palestinian children and civilians, perpetuating a humanitarian crisis that demands immediate action. 

As educators, we are committed to ensuring that our actions and investments reflect our values. We urgently demand that CalSTRS divest from companies that support the Israeli military's siege on Gaza and contribute to the decades-long occupation and human rights violations in Palestine. These investments stand in stark contrast to our values as educators committed to freedom, justice and equality for children around the world. Educators must not allow their pensions to fund the ongoing violence and destruction that is robbing Palestinian children of life and freedom.