By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
As the fall election nears, pro-Israel advocates in Seattle are stepping up their fight against a ballot initiative that, if passed, would require that city pension funds be divested from a number of companies that do business with Israel.
Initiative 97, titled “Seattle Divest from War and Occupation,” targets companies known to be profiting from either the war in Iraq or Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. The bulk of I-97 (roughly two thirds of the language) is dedicated to corporations that do business with Israel, although Caterpillar is the only company named specifically by the initiative in regard to Israel. A number of local Jewish and Israel-advocacy organizations, including StandWithUs Northwest, The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and the American Jewish Committee, are challenging the initiative, both in court and on the streets, in an attempt to prevent it from making it onto the ballot.
In May, opponents of I-97 appeared at King County Superior Court to address what they considered flawed and imprecise language within the initiative, claiming that the ballot title did not accurately reflect the degree to which Israel was included. The presiding judge agreed, revising the initiative summary to more clearly reflect its impact on companies that do business with Israel, as well as those involved in the Iraq war.
A second hearing is scheduled to take place on Sept. 5. This time, the hearing will be on whether on not, if passed, I-97 could legally determine where city pension funds are and are not invested.
State law dictates that city councils do not have the legal authority to direct pension investment decisions. StandWithUs, et al. are arguing that this means the voters don’t have that authority to do so by initiative either.
“Our argument is that even if I-97 were to pass, it is unenforceable and would be a meaningless gesture,” said Rob Jacobs, regional director for StandWishUs Northwest.
If the judge agrees, Jacobs assumes I-97 would no longer be eligible to appear on the ballot.
Judith Kolokoff, spokesperson for I-97, said she is unconcerned about the upcoming court date.
“The city approved this initiative in the first place,” she said. “They must have known what they were approving.”
She also cited the city’s 1984 divestment from companies doing business with South Africa in protest of Apartheid as precedent for I-97’s legality.
In the meantime, those on both sides of the issue continue working to gather public support.
Kolokoff said that as of mid-July, Seattle Divest from War and Occupation had acquired close to 50 percent of the required 18,000 signatures needed for I-97 to appear on the November ballot. She said that most of the signatures have been collected by volunteers who attend neighborhood farmers’ markets as well as Seattle festivals and fairs, petitions in hand.
“People have been responding very well,” Kolokoff said. “I’ve even had a number of city workers come to me and say, ‘Golly, thanks for doing this. I don’t want my funds invested in war.’”
Carol Gown, chair of the No on I-97 Steering Committee, expressed concerns over rumors that those gathering signatures for the I-97 petition may be underemphasizing the role Israel plays in the initiative, presenting it instead to signers as simply an anti-war matter.
“I think when people are signing the petitions, they’re oftentimes doing so because they are paying attention to the war in Iraq,” Gown said. “We question whether the full intent [of the initiative] is made clear to them.”
In response to claims that signature gatherers are neglecting to mention Israel in their pitch, Kolokoff said that she did not think that was the case.
“We never try to hide it and people do ask about it,” Kolokoff said. “We actually have people who come up and read every word [of the petition] before they sign.”
Still, opponents of the initiative plan to take steps to make sure the general voting public understands that I-97 is about more than just the Iraq war.
The No on I-97 campaign has set a fundraising goal of $145,000, most of which will go toward covering legal fees and various marketing efforts. However, Jacobs noted that taking a more grassroots approach, as Seattle Divest from War and Occupation has done, may also prove a crucial step.
On July 23, StandWithUs hosted a training session at Jewish Family Service for community members interested in taking the fight against I-97 to the streets.
The session took place after JTNews went to press, but its aim was to train volunteers to trail I-97 signature gatherers and provide would-be signers with additional information about the initiative’s impact on Israel that may be left out in the initial pitch.
“We want to make it known that Israel is a big part of this initiative,” Jacobs said. “I think that makes it much less popular for the public, which is why [signature gatherers] don’t talk about that.”
Jacobs added that there will be another training event on Aug. 26 at Herzl Ner-Tamid Conservative Congregation geared toward teaching people how to engage in dialogues about Israel with non-Jewish peers. Part of the August event will also deal with I-97.
Politically, the No on I-97 campaign has garnered increased support in the last couple of months with a number of elected officials, including Mayor Greg Nickels, King County councilmember Larry Philips, and two state representatives from the 36th District, announcing their opposition to the initiative.
This month, both the 34th and 36th District Democrats voted down resolutions to endorse I-97 and for their precinct committee officers to circulate petitions for the initiative.
During the July 10 meeting of the democrats of the 36th District, which includes neighborhoods between Belltown and Greenwood, opponents to the resolution argued that I-97 is not in keeping with the district’s foreign policy platform.
Janis Traven, vice chair of the 36th District Democrats, stressed the platform calls for a balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with acknowledgment that both sides share responsibility for the peace process. I-97, she said, implies that too much of the blame for the conflict falls with Israel.
“The resolution would make a number of claims about our platform that are flat-out untrue,” she said.
The 34th District Democrats, representing West Seattle south to Burien, and Vashon Island, refuted a similar resolution with a near-unanimous vote.
Jacobs, who was in attendance at the meeting of the 36th District, said that the failure of the resolutions in both districts came as a pleasant surprise.
“When it came down to the average voting members of [these districts], I had no idea what the outcome was going to be,” he said. “But I certainly take this as a good sign.”