intensified financial investments in Israel's military trading sector amidst the Gaza conflict
Barclays Under Fire Over Increased Investments in Israeli Arms Trade
Looks like Barclays, one of the UK's largest banks, is attracting some unwanted attention due to its increasing investments in companies supplying arms and military technology to Israel. This alarming revelation comes courtesy of a joint investigation by a coalition of activist groups, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), and War on Want.
Apparently, Barclays is holding over £2bn ($2.48bn) in shares of companies that manufacture weapons and military technology used by the Israeli army in its attacks on Palestinians, according to their findings. What's more, another staggering £6.1bn ($7.66bn) has been made available to these arms companies in the form of loans and underwritings.
Researchers involved in the investigation point out that this financial support marks a 55% increase in shareholdings since 2022 and a 54.5% increase in loans and underwritings since the same year.
The shady list of companies in which Barclays is suspiciously invested includes the Israeli drone manufacturer Elbit Systems, as well as General Dynamics, a US arms firm that manufactures components for warplanes. Other equally sketchy companies on this list include BAE Systems and Raytheon.
With Barclays' annual general meeting scheduled for May 9th in Glasgow, the bank is facing calls for a boycott over its ties to the Israeli arms trade. In the last fortnight alone, half the bands and musical artists scheduled to play the Brighton-based Great Escape festival have demanded the event drop its sponsorship with Barclays.
The growing outcry against Barclays stems from Israel's ongoing conflict with Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 34,500 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
"Barclays is bankrolling Israel's assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. It is shamefully profiting from and complicit in a genocide," Ben Jamal, director of PSC, said. "Rather than heeding voices of conscience, which includes thousands of former customers, it seeks to make more money from the misery, pain, and death of Palestinians," he added.
Emily Apple, of CAAT, hinted that this new report would add fuel to the campaign to boycott the bank, stating, "This new report makes our joint Boycott Barclays campaign more important than ever and should act as a catalyst for even more people to close their accounts."
War on Want's executive director Asad Rehman drew comparisons between Barclays' conduct during the apartheid era in South Africa and its investments today, calling Barclays "synonymous with apartheid for having shamefully propped up and profited from systemic racial discrimination in South Africa and it does the same with Israel, bankrolling systematic, militarized discriminatory violence against Palestinians."
In response to these concerns, Middle East Eye has reached out to Barclays for comment. So stay tuned for their response, I suppose.
- The investigation by activist groups such as Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), and War on Want found that Barclays holds over £2bn ($2.48bn) in shares of companies that supply arms and military technology to Israel.
- Researchers involved in the investigation stated that this financial support marks a 55% increase in shareholdings since 2022 and a 54.5% increase in loans and underwritings since the same year.
- Another concerning finding of the investigation is that Barclays is invested in Israeli drone manufacturer Elbit Systems, US arms firm General Dynamics, BAE Systems, and Raytheon.
- In light of these findings, calls for a boycott of Barclays have been growing, especially in relation to its ties to the Israeli arms trade, with half the bands and musical artists scheduled to play the Great Escape festival demanding the event drop its sponsorship with Barclays.
- Critics of Barclays, like Ben Jamal of PSC and Asad Rehman of War on Want, have accused the bank of profiting from and being complicit in genocide and systematic, militarized discriminatory violence against Palestinians, drawing comparisons to Barclays' conduct during the apartheid era in South Africa.
