Grand Rapids demands Corewell Health divest from Israeli companies
Grand Rapids, MI – On March 5, outside of Corewell Health, the largest employer in Grand Rapids, 30 people rallied outside of the healthcare giant demanding their immediate divestment from Israeli companies and bonds.
Early this month, Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids launched its “Corewell Health Divest!” campaign in response to the horrific destruction of Palestine’s healthcare system and the company’s connection to the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator – a nonprofit which proudly states itself to be “the only landing zone in the U.S. dedicated to supporting the growth of Israeli companies” and having “hosted 100+ Israeli companies in Michigan.”
Highlighting this and bringing attention to the continued war crimes committed by the Israeli military, PSGR co-chair Emerson Wolfe stated the facts to the crowd, “Israel has completely destroyed well over half of Gaza’s major hospitals. Thousands upon thousands of drone and missile strikes against Palestinian clinics, hospitals, and ambulances have been reported by the World Health Organization. Over 1000 healthcare workers and counting have been murdered by the IOF in Gaza and in their ongoing siege of the West Bank!”
The protesters, waving a banner stating “Corewell divest” and chanting slogans such as “Israeli fundings got to go! CEO Decker has to know!” also talked to healthcare workers going in for the third shift at the hospital.
“It’s really important these folks understand that their employer is caught up in this business of preaching healthcare at home while buying into companies which support genocide overseas,” remarked one community member. “We’re not protesting these workers – in fact we need them to join us – we’re protesting those who make millions from this genocide and the decades long occupation of Palestine.”
Corewell CEO Tina Freese Decker’s trip to Israel in March of 2023 was sponsored by the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator and included other corporate elites from around Michigan. From an article detailing the trip, CEO Decker stated that she felt “inspired and energized” by the visit to the country – the same country that turned the courtyards of the Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals in Gaza into mass graves.
“We’ve got to keep the pressure up,” said another community member stated. “Israelis have universal healthcare while people in this country go into debt for the simplest of procedures. Why is this? It’s because the U.S. government and private corporations stimulate the occupation’s economy. We need this money at home for people who are struggling.”