While PayPal operates in many conflict-affected and high-risk areas, including countries like Somalia and Yemen, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are unable to access this critical financial service. In the West Bank, Israelis living in settlements internationally recognized as illegal are able to move their money with ease, while their Palestinian neighbors cannot.
Jewish investors, families, foundations, rabbis and leaders are calling for an end to this discriminatory stance.
On Monday, the Jewish Investor Network, or JIN, an independent Jewish institution bringing together investors committed to human rights, justice and collective action, issued a public letter to PayPal board members, asking them to provide services in Palestine. On May 19th, PayPal’s shareholders will be able to make their voices heard on this matter at the company’s Annual General Meeting. The letter is signed by over 80 individuals and institutions representing more than $15 billion in assets under management and discretionary capital.
In the letter, we write that “as Jewish investors concerned with universal human rights for all peoples, driven by the concept that every person is created b’tzelem elohim, in the image of God, we stand by the principle that all have the right to live with dignity and in safety. A core element of a life with dignity is economic independence and financial stability, as indicated by the medieval philosopher Maimonides’ belief that helping someone who is economically disadvantaged become self-supporting is the height of tzedakah (charity).”
Shareholder action
As part of a long lineage of Jewish collective economic action for social justice, the Jewish Investor Network aims to activate the collective power of Jewish investors—from contesting corporate harms to investing in a world where all beings flourish. This new community will broaden Jewish representation in investor spaces and build a bold Jewish voice for human rights in the financial arena.
“JIN came together because there was not a Jewish community for values-aligned investors that clearly prioritized coordinated action towards liberation and equity for all,” explains Chordata Capital’s Kate Poole.
The PayPal letter – JIN’s inaugural collective action – is in support of a shareholder resolution filed by JIN member Deborah Sagner, a longtime donor-advocate for Jewish progressive movements like J Street, In Our Name, Rabbis for Ceasefire and Jewish Voice for Peace. The leading co-filers on the resolution are Friends Fiduciary Corporation, values-aligned partners that bring decades of experience in interfaith and ethical shareholder advocacy.
Stockholder Proposal 5 requests that the PayPal Board establish a policy ensuring that people in conflict zones, such as Palestine, do not suffer discriminatory exclusion from PayPal’s financial services, or provide an evaluation of the economic impact that this policy of exclusion has on the affected populations as well as the company’s finances, operations and reputation.
PayPal has long been committed to bringing full participation in the global economy to people around the world. In fact, PayPal’s 2022 Code of Business Conduct and Ethics affirms that “full participation in the global economy is a right, not a privilege. We have an obligation to empower people to exercise this right and improve financial health.” However, reports indicate that PayPal has consistently denied the more than five million Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) and Gaza fair and equitable access to its financial services by deplatforming Palestinian banks.
Given the urgent need for reconstruction in Gaza and the potential to empower 150,000 small businesses, the time to launch in Palestine is now; access to PayPal would be life-changing for Palestinians, offering financial self-determination and dignity by enabling freelancers and entrepreneurs to bypass costly barriers and finally integrate into the global economy.
As investors, we know that PayPal operating in Palestine is just good business: both moral and profitable.
Dorianna Blitt is a Jewish Investor Network member, and a board member at Mission Driven Finance, Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism, and World Within.
ari rosenberg on the steering committee of the Jewish Investor Network, and is a financial advisor with Chicory Wealth.
Guest posts on ImpactAlpha represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ImpactAlpha.
