Maine health care workers held a vigil in Portland on Feb. 10 to honor the hundreds of medical professionals killed in Gaza. (Courtesy Health Care Workers for Palestine- Maine)
Portland’s mayor apologized for last month’s divestment vote, saying he let down the city’s Jewish community by voting to pass a largely symbolic resolution divesting city funds from companies doing business with Israel because of the war in Gaza.
Mayor Mark Dion said at Monday’s Portland City Council meeting that he had come to the conclusion that his vote to support the divestment resolution was wrong, and that municipal governments should not take stances on international affairs or corporate finance.
Portland City Council votes to divest from companies doing business with Israel
“My goal was a betrayal for the trust that Jewish people should expect from the mayor’s office,” Dion said. “They should not have to wonder whether city government will act to protect their best interests.”
The city council’s resolution to divest from 85 businesses stands despite the mayor’s apology, making Portland one of four U.S. cities that voted to divest from companies doing business with Israel. After hours of public comment in a packed city council meeting, the vote passed unanimously in early September.
Many Portland residents pointed to the mounting death toll from the past year of attacks in Palestine, which now exceeded 42,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Members of the Jewish community also said they felt blindsided by the vote at the September meeting, some calling the divestment vote antisemitic.
However, the city did not have any investments in the listed businesses, according to Portland’s communications director, Jessica Grondin.
“We plan on complying with the resolution, but no divestment is expected to occur,” she said in a statement to the Maine Morning Star. “Our investments and investment strategy will not be impacted. We do not directly hold any of the investments per the resolution’s ‘at minimum divestment list’ in our general fund.”
In September, the finance director reported that the city had sold shares held in a company that provides Israel with screening technology used at military checkpoints, the Portland Press Herald reported.
At the Monday evening meeting, Councilor Pious Ali also read a proclamation condemning Islamophobia and antisemitism in Portland.
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