Oxford Invested in 49+ Firms Tied to Illegal “Israeli” Activity
By Staff, Agencies
Oxford University is indirectly invested in at least 49 companies that have been flagged by the UN and human rights organizations for their involvement in illegal "Israeli" activities in occupied Palestinian territories, analysis by Middle East Eye has revealed.
Oxford’s £19m [$25.5m] holdings are a small part of its £8bn endowment, but campaigners question the university’s commitment to ethics and transparency in its investments.
Oxford’s investments in these companies are held through a passive equity tracker fund, created with BlackRock in 2020 to exclude fossil fuels and controversial weapons.
However, the fund’s index excludes neither companies on the UN list for violating Palestinian human rights linked to "Israeli" settlements nor those targeted by the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] campaign’s divestment list.
Holdings include four major "Israeli" banks, travel companies like Expedia, Booking Holdings, Airbnb, and US tech firm Motorola Solutions—all listed in the updated UN database.
"Israel’s" largest arms company Elbit Systems Ltd, Palantir Technologies, Rolls-Royce Holdings, IBM Co and Valero Energy Corp, each on the BDS shortlist, are also in the fund’s portfolio.
The Oxford BDS Coalition, made up of students and staff, told MEE: "It is completely unacceptable for Oxford University to be involved in illegal activities or to profit from an illegal occupation linked to severe human rights abuses, including genocide."
"The university has been made aware of these links on numerous occasions, so we have to assume that they are knowingly and willingly complicit in these crimes against humanity."
The coalition urges the university to fully disclose its investments and divest from all arms companies and firms connected to illegal "Israeli" activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The coalition said hundreds of university members, including senior academics, support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement over concerns about Oxford’s investments.
"The university should immediately end its ties with companies complicit in violating human rights and international law."
Oxford’s investment in an index tracker, which spreads funds across companies based on set criteria rather than individual picks, is not unusual.
Oxford told MEE that many institutions use index trackers, but its investment—less than 2% of the total—is notable since the university helped develop the fund.
Saqib Bhatti executive director of the US-based Action Center on Race and the Economy said Oxford, with the UK's largest endowment, is well-placed to lead other universities in demanding mission-aligned investments.
MEE asked Oxford if it could work with BlackRock on the fund to further screen for companies complicit in illegal "Israeli" activity.
A university spokesperson referred MEE to BlackRock’s site and Oxford’s Ethical Investment Restrictions for screening details.
The policy bans direct investments in arms makers, tobacco, fossil fuel companies, and funds focused on these sectors.
MEE asked Oxford how its nearly £10,000 indirect investment in Elbit Systems, linked to "Israeli" military weapons, fits with its ban on controversial arms investments but received no direct response.
BlackRock declined to comment on the fund or whether it can screen for companies linked to the "Israeli" occupation.
Noam Perry, strategic research coordinator for the US-Based American Friends Service Committee called Oxford’s ethical investment restrictions “admirable.”
But he said it’s “high time” Oxford expand its criteria to include companies enabling genocide, apartheid, or other war crimes.
Perry added that investing in such companies contradicts Oxford’s mission and said expanding restrictions would be as simple as applying existing ones.
Both Oxford and BDS coalition members note the BlackRock fund investment is small relative to the university’s total endowment.
But the coalition, which first uncovered and analyzed the fund, says it is important because the vast majority of the rest of the university’s company-level holdings have not been disclosed.
The group highlights the Oxford Endowment Fund [OEF], which pools capital from the university, colleges, and UK charities, saying it “dwarfs the fund investigated in this article.”
The OEF is worth over £7bn and includes investments from Oxford University, 31 colleges, and other trusts, the group said.
The collegiate university’s endowment is the UK’s largest, but its company-level investments remain undisclosed.
Despite 150+ FOI requests, Oxford and its colleges say they don’t have detailed investment info on the fund, the coalition said.
The Oxford BDS Coalition is appealing an ICO decision that lets OUEM withhold detailed disclosures, blocking scrutiny of the UK’s largest university endowment fund.
Oxford’s investment news surfaces as “Israel” faces UN genocide accusations over Gaza’s two-year war, recently paused by a US-brokered deal.
Amid growing global outcry, “Israel” faces call to ban its football teams from European competitions and its participants from Eurovision 2026.
Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund divested from US firm Caterpillar and five “Israeli” companies—including three BlackRock-held banks—over human rights abuses.
Dutch pension fund ABP also divested from Caterpillar over Gaza concerns.
In July, UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese named 60 companies sustaining “Israel’s” occupation, highlighting major investors like BlackRock and Vanguard for involving universities, pensions, and individual investors.
Asked about Oxford’s BlackRock investments, she urged divestment, warning continued involvement risks liability for international crimes.
UK campuses have seen strong pro-Palestinian activism and divestments recently. Bhatti urged Oxford to reconsider its mission amid Gaza’s educational destruction, saying, “You don’t exist to make money. You exist for education.”
