Send Page to a Friend Sudan divestment bill hits roadblock in State Senate   By Kristin Erekson The Jewish Advocate   June 14, 2007 JCRC protests amendment to include Sudan with other terror states A proposed bill calling for the state of Massachusetts to divest from Sudan has reached an impasse, as some in the Senate are declaring it unconstitutional. In an act that caused frustration within the local Jewish community, which has shown staunch support for the Sudan divestment legislation, Senate Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei decided on June 5 to delay further action on the bill. Tisei's reasoning was that the measure appeared to be "more of a resolution than substantive legislation." "Our philosophy is that this bill has got a lot of media attention and divesting from Sudan has becoming a cause that Hollywood has become involved in," Tisei said. "Therefore, we felt we should take a more comprehensive look at what types of companies we are investing our funds in and what countries these companies are doing business with." Tisei told the Advocate that he will now review the bill, which, if passed as is, would direct the state's pension fund to sell shares in entities that purchase oil and other commodities from the Sudanese government or supply its military with arms. Tisei said he also plans on making amendments to the legislation by adding language that calls for the divestment of countries on the U.S. list of state sponsors of international terrorism. Currently featured on the list are Iran, Syria and North Korea, among others. "Obviously, a lot of attention and focus has been on Sudan, but there are other countries that should be in the same category," added Tisei, who noted his amendments could be voted on by the Senate in coming weeks. "For instance, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are starving to death right now, and Iran is trying to kill us and Israel." But the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, which voted to support the Sudan divestment legislation last October, said that including terrorist countries in the legislation will undermine the purpose of the bill: to stop genocide in Darfur. Since 2003, at least 400,000 Sudanese have been killed and more than two million civilians have been displaced by the government-sponsored Arab militias. In an attempt to block approval of the amendments, JCRC has sent out mass e-mails encouraging constituents to contact their representatives and urge them to oppose the proposed revisions. "This legislation has been specifically geared toward Sudan," said Irit Tamir, director of government affairs at the JCRC, who noted that her organization is currently working on a separate bill calling for divestment from Iran. "I know Iran, North Korea and other countries may be very worthy issues to look at for divestment purposes, but those are issues that need to be addressed individually. We also don't want to place a heavy burden on our pension board system." Michael Travaglini, executive director of the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, said that out of the state's $49 billion in investments, more than $1 million is endowed in Sudan. In the past, Travaglini has testified in opposition to the Sudan divestment bill, noting that he doesn't support the situation in the country but is opposed to all divestment. With PRIM being the responsible party for pulling the state's assets if the legislation is passed, Tisei's amendments calling for the divestment from all state-sponsored countries of terror would exacerbate matters for investors, according to Travaglini. "It makes absolutely no sense," Travaglini told the Advocate. "We want to be able to invest wherever we can make money for our beneficiaries." State Rep. Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington), who introduced the Sudan divestment bill into the Legislature in January, said he frankly doesn't understand lawmakers' problems with the bill, especially since it has been vetted through a team of lawyers. And, Kaufman said, adding other countries to one bill will "muddy the waters." "As House chair of the [Joint Committee on Public Service] that has jurisdiction of these kinds of issues, I would be very happy to consider another bill that looks at the area of terrorist states," Kaufman said. Daniel Millenson, author of the Sudan divestment bill and national advocacy director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force, said he has currently been working to encourage grassroots advocates to call their state senators and ask for their support in passing the legislation without amendments. As a Jewish student at Brandeis University, Millenson said that stopping genocide in Darfur has become a cause close to his heart. "I think for the Jewish community especially, for obvious reasons, there is a great sensitivity to things like genocide," Millenson added. "I think it is essential that we stand up for other ethnicities and other groups that are facing similar types of ethnic or religious-based persecution."