San Francisco State University changes investment policy after negotiating with anti-Israel protesters

The foundation that manages the San Francisco State University endowment voted to approve a new investment policy, a move that anti-Israel protesters celebrated.

The SF State Foundation approved the policy on Dec. 12 following months of negotiating with anti-Israel protesters, according to The Jewish News of Northern California, which added that the foundation manages a portfolio of over $160 million.

While the new policy doesn’t specifically mention Israel, it does restrict investments in weapons manufacturers as well as companies that “facilitate or enable severe violations of international law and human rights.”

The new policy was approved unanimously with one abstention.

Anti-Israel protesters at the school hailed the decision as a victory, writing on Instagram, “Divestment vote passes.”

“Following our encampment protesting SF State’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, SF State divested from four human rights abusers,” the groups wrote on Instagram.

President of the SF State Foundation, Jeff Jackanicz, told the outlet in an interview that the university wasn’t going to consider BDS.

“They would come to us with certain demands,” Jackanicz said. “We would push back and say we’re not willing to entertain BDS as a possibility, nor are we willing to do anything that would essentially be a proxy for BDS.”

He described the decision to vote in favor of the new policy as one that is “industry standard” with portfolio managers who are becoming worried about ethical investing.