Press Release: National Jewish Advocacy Center Files Lawsuit to Block Northampton’s Unlawful Anti-Israel Divestment Resolution

3 days ago
1 min read

Northampton, MA — The National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), together with the Gevura Fund and Libby Hoopes Brooks & Mulvey, P.C., today filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts Superior Court on behalf of Northampton taxpayers challenging the legality of a City Council resolution directing City officials to make investment decisions based on improper ideological criteria.

The Resolution directs the Northampton City Treasurer and City Retirement Board to divest from and refuse future investment in companies deemed to have “substantial, ongoing, and intentional complicity” in alleged human rights violations in Israel. It further prohibits investment in Israel Bonds and requires full divestment within two years. The Resolution provides no objective definitions for its key terms, including “complicity” or “human rights violations,” leaving enforcement entirely to subjective political judgment...