Politics
More than 100 march in South Lake Union over Washington pension stake in Palantir
Demonstrators marched to Palantir’s Seattle office Monday, urging Washington to remove the data-analytics company from state pension investments because of its work with Israel’s military. The state investment board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 100 people marched through Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood Monday to press Washington to divest state pension funds from Palantir, citing the company’s relationship with the Israeli military.
The march began at a neighborhood park and ended outside Palantir’s office at Fairview Market Hall. Demonstrators chanted “Kick Palantir out of Seattle” as security guards watched from behind the building’s locked doors. Some wore clothing marked with the words “Cut Ties with Genocide.”
The protest was organized by the Cut Ties with Genocide campaign, led by Jewish Voice for Peace Seattle and the Palestinian-led group Washington for Peace and Justice. The state investment board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Washington State Investment Board manages pension funds for state employees, investing largely in stock indexes that hold shares in many companies. Its 10 voting members include the state treasurer, lawmakers and representatives of public employee retirement plans; five investment professionals serve as nonvoting members.
At a demonstration last year, activists said the board held $73.4 million in Palantir investments as of December 2024. That figure does not establish the board’s current holdings.
Palantir and Israel’s Ministry of Defense agreed to a strategic partnership in 2024. The company said it would provide technology to support what it described as Israel’s “war-related missions.” Palantir did not respond to a request for comment.
Technology companies’ work with the Israeli government has drawn increased scrutiny since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023. Microsoft and Amazon, for example, have commercial relationships with the government and military. Microsoft has said it provides cloud and artificial-intelligence services to the Israeli government; last year, it also suspended services for an Israeli military intelligence unit after finding evidence its technology had been used to surveil Palestinians.
The debate over state pension investments puts public accountability and workers’ retirement funds at the center of a wider dispute over the role of technology companies in military operations. Monday’s march was a renewed call for Washington’s investment managers to consider the state’s financial ties to Palantir.