MSCI accused of using site tied to Gaza hostage holder to penalize companies doing business with Israel

In July, three House committees urged the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the Palestine Chronicle and its parent nonprofit People Media Project for allegedly supporting Hamas and potentially financing terrorism. This came after a writer from the publication was found to have held Israeli civilian hostages in his home. Despite this, a major U.S. investment advisory firm, MSCI, uses the Palestine Chronicle as a source to assign damaging ESG ratings to two major U.S. companies, Motorola and Caterpillar, which do business in Israel. MSCI s practices have drawn scrutiny as the firm is already under investigation for assigning damaging investment ratings to an Israeli military defense contractor and Israeli banks. The firm cites a Palestine Chronicle article about British college students calling for divestment from Caterpillar due to its equipment used for demolitions in Judea and Samaria. Socially-conscious investors often rely on ESG ratings to guide their investment decisions, and accusations of poor corporate practices, including human rights violations, could sway them from investing in certain companies. Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, criticizes MSCI s actions as intentionally inflicting economic harm on firms operating in Israel on a discriminatory and politically-motivated basis. The JNS source also revealed that MSCI used information from other groups that support boycotting Israel, such as Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, War on Want, and Amnesty International, in its Caterpillar report. Motorola was tagged with three controversies, including a severe controversy related to its supply of surveillance equipment used in Israel-controlled territory. Goldberg suggests that state anti-BDS laws should be activated to address MSCI s discriminatory practices. The growing body of evidence indicates that MSCI is intentionally harming firms operating in Israel based on political motivations.

Source: americanisraelite.com
Published on 2024-09-19