Irish sovereign wealth fund stops investing in two more companies linked to Israeli settlements
However, the fund has also seen the value of its direct shareholdings in four other companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements – Airbnb, Alstom, Booking Holdings and Motorola Solutions – increase from €2.1 million in 2023 to €5.3 million last year.
The latest annual report
from the National Treasury Management Agency shows that the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) no longer invested in Expedia Group and Tripadvisor in 2024, as it did the previous year.
The two companies are listed on
a United Nations database
that names businesses and parent companies that enable the continued existence of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
Both are US-owned accommodation booking platforms which
The Journal Investigates
found had featured dozens of listings
based in settlements in the West Bank, parts of occupied East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
The NTMA's 2023 report showed that the ISIF's direct shareholdings in the two companies were worth over €1.3 million.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe revealed in a Parliamentary Question response in April that the State also indirectly invested around €985,000 in Expedia Group the same year.
The 2024 NTMA report shows the fund no longer directly invests in either Expedia Group or Tripadvisor, though it is not yet clear whether indirect investments in either company are held.
Advertisement
Last year, the government publicly announced that it had divested €2.95 million worth of shares from six other Israeli companies, whose names likewise do not feature in the 2024 NTMA report.
They include five Israeli banks – Bank Hapoalim BM; Bank Leumi-le Israel BM; Israel Discount Bank; Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd; First International Bank – and an Israeli chain store, Rami Levi CN Stores.
The NTMA report also showed that the State continued to directly invest in four companies that are named on the UN watchlist in 2024, increasing the value of its shares in each of them compared to 2023.
They include accommodation platform Airbnb, whose listings also include properties that are based in settlements in the West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Last year, the value of the ISIF's direct shares in the company were worth €440,000, up from €310,000 in 2023.
Airbnb
has previously said
it donates all profits from listings in the occupied West Bank to 'non-profit organisations dedicated to humanitarian aid that serve people in different parts of the world'.
The ISIF also continued to invest in French rail multinational Alstom, whose subsidiary Bombardier Transportation supplied vehicles on the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem train line, which
passes through parts of the occupied West Bank
.
Direct holdings in the company rose to €1.53 million in 2024, an increase on the €210,000 shareholding it held in 2023.
A spokesperson for Alstom told previously
The Journal
that the company does not have any activity within or related to occupied Palestinian territories, and that the company has requested removal from the UN database when it is next updated.
Meanwhile, the ISIF retained shares in another accommodation company, Booking Holdings, in 2024.
Related Reads
Irish sovereign wealth fund pumped millions into companies contracted by Israel Defence Forces
Who are the 8 companies that Ireland invests in that have links to illegal Israeli settlements?
The company is named on the UN list because Booking.com lists hundreds of rooms for hotels and guesthouses in settlements in the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
The ISIF's direct shares in the company were worth €1.04 million last year, up from €920,000 in 2023.
And direct shareholdings in Motorola Solutions Inc, whose Israeli subsidiary has been criticised
by the United Nations
and
human rights groups
for its treatment of Palestinians in illegal settlements, also rose last year.
The ISIF's direct holding in the company rose to €2.35 million in 2024, an increase on the €700,000 worth of direct investments it held in the company 2023.
The nature of the fund's investments
previously made headlines this week
when it emerged that the ISIF also held €3.6 million in Israeli state bonds.
Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan claimed it was 'utterly outrageous' that the fund held the bonds and it was claimed the investment was being used to help Israel's 'genocidal campaign' in Gaza.
Paschal Donohoe subsequently confirmed that the ISIF had since divested itself of all Israeli bonds in the last number of weeks.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Tearful Red Bull F1 staff ordered to ‘smile more' after being rocked by Christian Horner axe
TEARFUL staff rocked by Red Bull chief Christian Horner's axing have been ordered to 'smile more' by their new Austrian and German bosses. Loyal workers were stunned when the British Formula One team's supremo 3 Red Bull staff have been told to 'smile more' despite being upset over Christian Horner's exit Credit: AFP 3 The ace was brutally fired earlier this month in a surprise meeting Credit: AP He helped And sources told SunSport new Austrian boss Helmut Marko upset staff who gathered to meet him at the team's HQ in Milton Keynes — with some now threatening to quit. A female Red Bull worker revealed: 'It was only a day after Christian was sacked and a lot of the team were still upset when Mr Marko addressed us. 'But he just made a joke of it and told us to cheer up — he said, 'You need to smile more'. READ MORE IN F1 'It didn't endear him to anyone as what is there to smile about?' Horner's roles as chief executive officer and team principal have been usurped by Austrian team adviser Marko, 82, and German ex-football official Oliver Mintzlaff, 49. While French engineer and motorsport exec Laurent Mekies, 48, was quickly unveiled as Horner's replacement last week. But insiders have insisted Mintzlaff and Marko are now the men in the driving seat — and revealed their first address to staff at Milton Keynes was a 'car crash'. Most read in Motorsport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Mintzlaff sparked more anger when he joked about the brutal axing of senior staff including Horner, chief marketing officer Oliver Hughes and director of communications Paul Smith. Horner was summoned to London on July 9 believing he was attending a regular team meeting. Christian Horner SACKED by Red Bull F1! Shock Departure After 20 Years But he was then relieved of his duties on the spot and put on gardening leave. Hughes and Smith were called into an office and also told they were no longer part of Red Bull's future. They were escorted out of the building after having their company devices taken from them — leaving hundreds of staff with no bosses to answer to. And another staff member told SunSport: 'Mintzlaff also said, 'If you have any problems, just text your line manager'. 'Then he added, 'Oh, and if you don't have a line manager any more, just text me!' and started laughing.' Red Bull supremo Horner knew nothing of the plans to get rid of him, 18 months after he was accused of a sexting scandal which broke the heart of his Spice Girl wife Geri, 52. And the £12million-a-year chief was replaced within 24 hours by Marko and Mintzlaff, who arrived to address staff members, 90 per cent of whom are British. Emotional Red Bull insiders spoke in depth for the first time yesterday over their shock at the loss of their boss. They also laid bare the chaos that is now gripping this once all-conquering F1 team. 3 And long-standing family friends who have spoken to Horner admitted he was left stunned by his ruthless removal. One told SunSport: 'Christian told me how hurt and betrayed he felt after all that he and Geri and their family have been through over the past 18 months. 'He was cleared twice over the texting scandal but is now on gardening leave and has still been given no explanation why he's lost the job he loved. 'Red Bull's Austrian bosses have always resented the fact that so much of their F1 success was down to a team that Christian built in Britain. 'That is what lies behind this — as well as the hangover from the terrible headlines last year. 'Christian was called to a London meeting and had no idea what it was about. 'He was just told, 'You have to be there' and was dumbfounded when he was ushered into a room and effectively sacked on the spot. 'It left him totally blindsided — he thought he'd been called in to speak about another issue. 'But the staff are nearly all Brits and are fiercely loyal to him and are now talking about walking out. 'It was a targeted attack for control of the race team because Red Bull's Austrian HQ didn't like a British man running their race team. 'But now the team is in chaos — Red Bull at Milton Keynes has hit the skids.' Red Bull's Austrian-based HQ was approached for comment yesterday.
The Journal
9 hours ago
- The Journal
Pope renews call for immediate Gaza ceasefire
POPE LEO HAS renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians. 'I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,' the pontiff said at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo. Leo also expressed his 'deep sorrow' for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest. 'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,' the Pope added. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it is investigating. 'We need to dialogue and abandon weapons,' the Pope said earlier today, after presiding over Mass at the nearby Cathedral of Albano. Advertisement 'The world no longer tolerates war.' Gaza The bodies of Palestinians who were killed while attempting to access aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel are brought to a clinic in Gaza City. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Pope Leo's call for a ceasefire comes as at least 73 people have been killed while attempting to access aid at locations across Gaza, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory has said. The largest toll was in the northern part of the territory, where 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel. More than 150 people were injured, with some of them in a critical condition, hospitals said. Seven Palestinians were also killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital, which received the casualties. It was not immediately clear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs, or both. But some witnesses said the Israeli military shot at the crowd. The Israeli military said soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and that it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers being reported by teams in Gaza were far higher than the military's initial investigation found. The military added it is attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.
Irish Examiner
10 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
US commerce secretary Lutnick 'confident we'll get a deal done' with EU
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States can secure a trade deal with the European Union, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in. Lutnick said he had just gotten off the phone with European trade negotiators and there was "plenty of room" for agreement. "These are the two biggest trading partners in the world, talking to each other. We'll get a deal done. I am confident we'll get a deal done," Mr Lutnick said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation." US president Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major US trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. Mr Lutnick said that was a hard deadline. "Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on August 1," he said on CBS. Mr Trump announced the tariffs in a letter to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. He sent letters to other trading partners including Mexico, Canada, Japan, and Brazil, setting blanket tariff rates ranging from 20% to 50%, as well as a 50% tariff on copper. Mr Lutnick also said he expected Mr Trump to renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed during Mr Trump's first White House term in 2017-21. Barring any major changes, USMCA-compliant goods from Mexico and Canada are exempt from tariffs. "I think the president is absolutely going to renegotiate USMCA, but that's a year from today," Mr Lutnick said. Reuters
