Northampton Residents Move to Intervene in Divestment Lawsuit
Twenty Jewish community members join former officials and residents defending the city's investment policy in court.
Thirty Northampton residents, including twenty members of the city's Jewish community, have filed to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the city's divestment resolution, according to the Amherst Indy. The case, Kevin Hale, et al. v. City of Northampton, was filed in March to invalidate a resolution the City Council passed unanimously last September that directed the city to remove public investments from companies involved in human rights violations in Israel and Palestine.
The intervenors, who include former public officials, healthcare workers, and professors, argue that the lawsuit misrepresents the resolution and threatens ethical investment policies broadly. They contend that challenging Northampton's divestment efforts could undermine similar movements regarding fossil fuels and weapons manufacturers.
Alisa Klein, a former city councilor who has lived in Northampton for more than three decades, is among the intervenors. Klein said she feels a moral obligation to support the resolution and cited her background as someone with Israeli-American citizenship who served in the Israeli army. "I began to understand the brutality and injustices of Israeli militarism and apartheid that are now culminating in a systematic genocide of the Palestinian people," Klein said.
Another intervenor, Lois Ahrens, who has lived in Northampton for 46 years, drew parallels to Northampton's past divestment efforts. "I was here in Northampton when Massachusetts was a leader in the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa," Ahrens said. "This resolution follows in that proud tradition by urging the city to divest funds from entities upholding Israel's cruel system of apartheid."
The original City Council resolution cited Amnesty International's 2022 conclusion that Israel imposes apartheid against Palestinians, as well as a 2024 International Court of Justice ruling that Israel's occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem is illegal. As of January 2025, Northampton had more than $70,000 invested in companies meeting criteria for complicity in human rights violations, including the First International Bank of Israel and weapons manufacturer RTX.