menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Yale Investments in Companies Selling Arms to Israel Violate State Law, Says an Official Complaint

2 1
26.03.2025

Yale University’s investments in weapons manufacturers violate Connecticut state law, organizers at the school allege in a complaint filed Wednesday with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.

The complaint asks the attorney general to investigate Yale’s refusal to heed campus protesters’ calls for divestment from military weapons manufacturers and suppliers amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

“Financially prudent investments may be ineligible for investment if they are deeply incompatible with the University’s mission and purposes,” the complaint says, citing state law and the university’s own investment policies.

“Financially prudent investments may be ineligible for investment if they are deeply incompatible with the University’s mission.”

Universities around the country are facing lawsuits and federal complaints over their handling of protests against the war. This is the first complaint seeking a state investigation into a university over its refusal to divest from the military industry in relation to the war, according to the organizers.

The organizers allege that Yale trustees breached their fiduciary duties by maintaining investments that expose the university endowment to profit from military weapons manufacturers and suppliers aiding war crimes by Israel.

While Yale Corporation, which manages the university endowment, does not disclose the vast majority of its $40.7 billion endowment, organizers say at least $4 billion of that is tied to manufacturers and suppliers of military weapons. The scant public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission — 99.7 percent of Yale’s endowment is not publicly disclosed show that the university has more than $110,000 invested in military weapons manufacturers and contractors with the Israeli military, Yale Daily News reported last year.

The investments include money in funds that hold shares of weapons companies like Raytheon,

© The Intercept