Christie signs law prohibiting N.J. pension investments with companies boycotting Israel
TRENTON - Gov. Christie offered his "unequivocal" support for Israel on Tuesday, signing into law legislation that prohibits the state Treasury Department from investing public employee pension funds in companies that boycott the U.S. ally.
TRENTON - Gov. Christie offered his "unequivocal" support for Israel on Tuesday, signing into law legislation that prohibits the state Treasury Department from investing public employee pension funds in companies that boycott the U.S. ally.
The law is a rejection of the "boycott, divestment, and sanctions" movement against Israel that Palestinians and other supporters launched a decade ago to, as the movement puts it, "pressure Israel to comply with international law."
"Unequivocal, unashamed, unapologetic support of Israel is the policy of the State of New Jersey - and should be the policy of the United States of America, and hopefully will be in the years going forward," Christie, a Republican, said at a Statehouse news conference.
Christie, who unsuccessfully ran for president in this campaign and who is now a top adviser to GOP nominee Donald Trump, also accused the Obama administration of weakening the alliance.
President Obama "has only found it appropriate to criticize Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Middle East and not the other thugs that run many of the other nations that threaten Israel's security every day," Christie said.
The Legislature passed the bill with near-unanimous support in June, despite vehement opposition from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the measure would stifle free speech and create "government blacklists."
"It creates serious constitutional questions. It has the real likelihood of chilling free speech activity," said Alexander Shalom, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU'S New Jersey branch.
"It is not the same as other divestment movements have been. This one doesn't punish the action of not investing in Israel; it punishes, in real ways, thoughts and beliefs."
New Jersey joins about a dozen other states that have adopted similar measures.
Legislative sponsors say the law will strengthen ties with Israel, with which New Jersey trades $1.3 billion annually in goods and services, according to the law's text.
Under the law, the Treasury will be required, within two years, to "sell, redeem, divest, or withdraw any investment" in a company that is found to boycott Israel. The law defines "boycott" as "engaging in actions that are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with another state or nation."
The director of the state Division of Investment will have four months to identify any current investments that violate the act, and report his findings to the Legislature.
The Treasury already is banned from investing pension funds in companies with ties to Sudan or Iran.
New Jersey's $72 billion pension fund covers about 800,000 active and retired public workers.
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