\u201cIt will absolutely send a message to Israel but also to our own government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Providence divests, we will be the largest city in the country to divest and also the first to do so directly by popular vote,\u201d Kligler said.<\/p>\n
In September 2025, an independent United Nations commission concluded Israel has committed genocide in Gaza<\/a>. Israel strongly rejects that charge<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Providence vote comes just a week after Israeli voters went to the polls in an election that many hoped could be a turning point in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Exit polls suggest no one has a clear path<\/a> to forming a government there.<\/p>\n Here, the divestment ballot initiative has split the city\u2019s political leadership, becoming one of many flashpoints in the mayor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n Mayor Brett Smiley, a staunch supporter of Israel, is urging voters to reject Question 7.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just divestment from Israel. It\u2019s also businesses that do business with Israel,\u201d Smiley said. \u201cIt would prevent the city\u2019s pension fund from investing in Google, or Microsoft, or Apple, or Caterpillar. Blue chip, American companies.\u201d<\/p>\n Providence Mayor Brett Smiley opposes Question 7, arguing the proposed divestment measure could expose the city to costly legal challenges and harm its Jewish community. Credit: Ocean State Media<\/p>\n The proposed ordinance targets companies that \u201cdirectly and knowingly enable and contribute\u201d to human rights abuses. If it passes, it would direct the city to get out of direct investments in companies found to be \u201ccomplicit\u201d in those abuses.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s $700 million pension fund rarely invests in individual companies, according to annual reports, but often invests in funds that hold a range of stocks and financial instruments, such as index funds. The ordinance directs the city to \u201cofficially and publicly ask the managers of these accounts or funds to consider adopting the above restrictions on its investments.\u201d<\/p>\n The city treasurer would review the portfolio annually.<\/p>\n Supporters of the measure, including likely new mayor and current state Rep. David Morales, say the city can work out the details later. Ditto the potential legal challenges.<\/p>\n Smiley says even that will be expensive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt violates the city charter, and it likely violates state law,\u201d Smiley said. \u201cIt will be challenged in court, and the only thing that Providence residents will have to show for their efforts is a bill for legal services.\u201d<\/p>\n Smiley, a convert to Judaism, claimed the initiative poses a threat to the Jewish community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will make many members of our community unsafe because we know antisemitism is on the rise in the country and here in Rhode Island,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd something targeting Israel will, in effect, target our Jewish community here in Providence.\u201d<\/p>\n But Morales, who defeated Smiley in the September Democratic primary, calls that fear-mongering.<\/p>\n Morales wholeheartedly supports Question 7.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it sends a message,\u201d he said, \u201cthat our values are reflected in our budgets. And our values are reflected in the way we choose to spend taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n Morales is part of a new generation of elected officials who\u2019ve sought to separate Jewish identity from Israeli politics. Like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, Morales believes supporting our Jewish neighbors does not require financial and military support for Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s regime.<\/p>\n State Rep. David Morales, who defeated incumbent Mayor Brett Smiley in the September Democratic primary, supports Question 7, saying the divestment measure would better align Providence\u2019s investments with its values. Credit: Ocean State Media<\/p>\n \u201cWe have that responsibility as elected officials, across all levels of government, to have layers of moral clarity, but to also be absolutely clear that the atrocities and the genocide happening in Gaza in no way, shape, or form ever justify any form of antisemitism,\u201d Morales said.<\/p>\n In other words: think globally, act locally.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not how Maria Friedman sees it.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is completely trying to target Israel and also harm the Jewish people,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is antisemitic.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Providence](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793227092_595_.png\"\/)
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