By World BEYOND War, April 19, 2024
A message from Ontario teachers and retirees:
In December, Ontario teachers and retirees found out that our pensions are being invested in weapons manufacturers who directly contribute to and profit from Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
As educators we are horrified that our deferred salary is invested in corporations directly complicit in Israel’s genocidal violence in Gaza. This goes against everything we stand for as teachers, who dedicate our professional lives to the care and well being of children, and building a just and peaceful future for all.
Over the past three months, hundreds of us got in touch with pension plan leadership, but they refused to speak with any of us.
So last night we showed up to their annual meeting and became impossible to ignore.
We refuse to be complicit in the murder of more than 13 thousand children, hundreds of our Palestinian teacher colleagues, and the destruction of more than 70% of Gaza’s educational infrastructure.
We demand that the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan immediately divest from all companies producing the machinery of mass death, and impose a screen on all investments to exclude any companies manufacturing weapons or military components.
We expect our leaders in the Ontario Teachers Federation uphold their duty to advocate for a teaching profession that refuses complicity with genocide.
Are you a teacher who wants to make sure your pension isn’t invested in corporations directly complicit in Israel’s genocidal violence in Gaza? Take action with us at worldbeyondwar.org/otpp
We’re just getting started.
8 Responses
Well done! Let’s continue to protest OTPP investment in weapons producers that enable the genocide by Zionist state against the Palestinian people.
Over 13,000! that’s more than enough to fill every desk in every classroom twice over in our school district.
Stop the genocide
Thou Shall Not Kill People!!!! Ceasefire Now!!
NO MORE GENOCIDE!
“Approximately 378 schools have been destroyed or damaged. The Palestinian Ministry of Education has reported the deaths of over 4,327 students, 231 teachers and 94 professors.
Numerous cultural heritage sites, including libraries, archives and museums, have also been destroyed, damaged and plundered.”
As retired teachers we gave our life energy and spirit to safe and energized classrooms, advocating for the best possible conditions to develop critical thinking and global citizenship. This is our reward? Investments from war mongers eager for a profit margin that springs from coffins and sorrows? Not one bullet, not one bomb, not in our name.
No more arms trade, anywhere, anytime. Lives are more important than profits.
Congratulations on this great direct action! And happy May Day!