For Palestine solidarity organizations, the call to work for divestment from Israel and Israeli institutions complicit in apartheid, genocide and ethnic cleansing involves working with broader coalitions and digging into the opaque bureaucratic processes through which decisions are made. Work by activists in Michigan provides insights.   

The Palestine Interfaith Network (PIN), a coalition that formed in response to genocide in Gaza and includes members from multiple Christian denominations including members East Lansing Edgewood UCC and Quaker Friends, Muslim, Buddhists and individual Jewish participants, has been actively working with a broader coalition of activists in Michigan to force the state of Michigan to divest from its investments in Israel. The coalition includes Michigan Divest, a statewide activist organization committed to divestment, among others.

The divestment campaign began with the discovery that the Michigan State Employee Pension System held a $10 million Israel bond as part of the employee pension portfolio. The campaign organizers noted that the Pension Board sold a Russia Bond at the request of the Governor when Russia invaded Ukraine. More than a year of activism that involved significant mobilizing of volunteers including teachers and other state employees to communicate concern about the moral implications of holding and support for divestment from the Israel bond in public meetings and other communication including emails to the State Pension Board. The campaign successfully led to a decision not to renew the bond in November 2025, a significant victory. 

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This excerpt is from the UCCMPS October 2025 E-Newsletter. To view the full newsletter, click here:
UCC MPS October E-News 2026