What is divestment? What kind of divestment is the URJ supporting in particular?
Divestment is most simply a unified policy of “dis-investing” or pulling investments out of companies that do significant business with a particular country or industry. In the past divestment was a tool that was used effectively to help end South Africa’s policy of apartheid. Divestment has also been a major tool in the work currently focused on ending the genocide in Darfur. Specifically in the case of Iran, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and other like-minded organizations are advocating for a “targeted divestment” from companies that do significant business (i.e. more than $20 million/year) with the Iranian oil and gas industry.
