More than £260m of Yorkshire local councils' pension funds are held in stocks of companies complicit in Israeli 'violations of international law'

Israel continues its aerial bombardment of Gaza following an attack by Hamas earlier this month which saw at least 1,400 civilians killed and a further 200 taken hostage.

Amnesty International says both Hamas and Israel should be investigated for war crimes. The latter’s response has seen more than 4,000 civilians killed.

WYPF has the highest value of Yorkshire pension funds invested in companies identified by PSC. They confirmed a total of £154,741,637 of holdings - as of March 31 2023 - including more than £66m invested in BAE Systems, and £29.5m invested in RTX (formerly known as Raytheon) who produce the bunker buster bombs used by Israeli forces.

Data released by Friends of the Earth this week revealed WYPF also holds over £1 billion of assets in fossil fuel companies.

A spokesperson said: “WYPF has the responsibility to invest employer and employee contributions in order to ensure there are sufficient assets to pay the pensions of 300,000 public workers in the region.”

A spokesperson for SYPA clarified they aim “to be a responsible investor as distinct from an ethical investor.

“It is important to recognise the role of the Pension Fund is not to exercise political judgement,” they added, “but to ensure funds are available to pay pensions when they become due.”

Their fund, as of September 30 2023, had more than £44m invested in these companies, including £13m in Honeywell; a company which produces bomb components and engines for aircraft used by the Israeli Defense Forces. Nearly £3m is invested in Chemring Group, a FTSE250 company providing military components for a century and has been granted 19 licenses by the UK government to export military goods to Israel between 2008 and 2021.

ERPF’s total investments are estimated to be more than £40m, and include £12m in BAE Systems, and £7m in Honeywell.

Only £8.9m of NYPF is invested in companies accused of complicity in Israeli violations of international law, although £7.3m is invested in Check Point Software Tech - Israel’s fourth largest company, which works side-by-side with Israel’s military and security services.

SYPA, ERPF and NYPF are all part of the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, a grouping of 11 LGPS funds to secure more buying power and higher returns on their investments.

Their spokesperson said: “All our investments comply with our responsible investment policy which was developed with our Partner Funds and is reviewed with them annually.”