As the genocide in Gaza intensifies, violence in the West Bank escalates, and attacks on our movements grow, as a new government and brand new cabinet ministers take power, now is a critical time to stand up and demand an end to Israel’s violence and Canada’s complicity in it. It is at this juncture that a new phase of the campaign for Scotiabank to divest from Elbit System begins.
Did you know that Scotiabank is one of the top 5 shareholders in Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms company?
Scotiabank uses the asset management company 1832 to invest in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer. Elbit Systems builds the Hermes drones used to kill innocent civilians in Gaza and produces white phosphorus, an internationally-banned chemical weapon. As of the current figures from May 2025, Scotiabank is the largest non-Israeli investor in Elbit Systems with an investment of $268M USD. This means that Scotiabank plays a huge role in directly funding the genocide of Palestinians.
Investing in Scotiabank is an investment in genocide.
Why This Matters / Why Now?
In late 2024, Scotiabank increased its holdings in Elbit by 25%, from $111 million to $180 million—after a year of public pressure had forced them to divest down from $402 million. Scotiabank has again increase its investment to $268 million as of Q1 2025. This reinvestment happened quietly, without public disclosure or acknowledgement By investing in Elbit, Scotiabank is profiting from and enabling war crimes against Palestinians, when more than 60,000 people have been killed.
This isn’t just about Elbit, but also Scotiabank’s profiteering from war by investing over $11B USD in corporations that profit from genocide. Elbit is one of many, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and others. It is the responsibility of everyone to divest from corporations proiting from the ongoing genocide, apartheid, and occupation imposed by Israel on Palestine and currently being charged by the International Court of Justice.
It’s clear that public pressure was a factor in Scotiabank divesting from Elbit over the course of the last 18 months, which is why it’s critical we keep that pressure up.
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