August 21: Day of Divestment Talking Points 🗣
Looking for talking points to mention when making public comment at Santa Clara County’s HLUET (Housing, Land-use, Environment and Transportation) subcommittee meeting or the San Jose City PSFSS (Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support) subcommittee meeting?
Well, we have some for you here and we will provide print-outs at the meetings!
Santa Clara County HLUET Subcommittee Meeting
Demand the county to divest from Chevron and to pass an ethical investment policy!
💻 The online meeting link is here: https://sccgov-org.zoom.us/j/86757005233
The SCC Talking Points document is provided here!
Example Public Comment
Good morning Committee, my name is [FIRST NAME] [and I live in District X (lookup here) of Santa Clara County]. I urge you to…
(Use the talking points below to come up with a public comment that make this pertinent to Santa Clara County: the urgency of the genocide, agony and personal loss, environmental safety, and the climate crisis.)
(Then finish by reiterating our main demand: having the HLUET Committee and the County take up a policy not to invest in fossil fuel companies or companies complicit in human rights abuses)
| Talking Points |
| Until August 11, this County had $15 million invested in Chevron, an energy company deeply complicit in the suffering of the Palestinians. Chevron powers all of the bases of the Israeli military, which has killed over 60,000 Palestinians in the past year and a half, and has provided energy to illegal Israeli settlements while banning some Palestinian communities from connection to the grid. In the face of these clearly immoral actions, the County must take a stance and adopt a policy to never invest in companies like Chevron again. |
| On May 22, 2025, the Sustainability Commission passed agenda Item #6 (ID# 124922), which was the Commission’s unanimously passed recommendation to explicitly “exclude new or renewed investments in fossil fuels” as part of the County’s official investment policy. In the past, this County has invested in Chevron and Exxon – two companies which have both accelerated the climate crisis and profited off the suffering of the Palestinian people. In the face of these urgent crises, I am disappointed that the HLUET Committee is not voting on this recommendation today. I urge the Sustainability Commission and the HLUET Committee to work together and ensure the HLUET Committee takes up this recommendation as soon as possible, to ensure our tax dollars no longer contribute to crises which threaten all of humanity. |
| Chevron’s reckless actions have caused deep harm to local residents here in the Bay Area. In 2021, Chevron’s Richmond refinery spilled 600 gallons into the San Francisco Bay, creating conditions so bad that people had to stay inside because it was unsafe to breathe. This pollution is not an isolated incident – Chevron has also spilled 16 billions of toxic wastewater into the Amazon rainforest, which affects the entire globe. When Chevron has so carelessly ruined our environment, it’s greatly disappointing that the county had millions of dollars invested in Chevron up until a week ago. I urge the county to pledge to never invest in fossil fuels again. |
| As a local resident of Santa Clara County, I see abuses of the human rights of Palestinians as a local issue – So many Palestinian community members across Santa Clara County are grieving the murder of their own friends and family, and many of us have been disturbed and moved to action by the images of starvation and death in Gaza. During such a deep humanitarian crisis, our county has a moral obligation to invest our tax dollars in an ethical manner – and that means refusing to invest in companies like Chevron and Exxon, which are complicit in this crisis, ever again. |
| Divestment from companies complicit in human rights violations has had a real impact in the past. In the 1980s, many American cities and schools across the country divested from South Africa, which was governed under a strict racial apartheid, with segregationist laws and land seizures which exploited and disenfranchised the majority Black population. This divestment movement was a key contributor to the economic isolation of South Africa which resulted in the end of apartheid. Today, we face a similar deeply urgent crisis–the murder and starvation of the Palestinian people. Santa Clara County must make the choice to be on the right side of history, and refuse to ever invest in companies complicit in this crisis again. |
San Jose City Council PSFSS Subcommittee
Demand the city to divest from companies complicit in genocide and to pass an ethical investment policy!
The companies currently invested in are: Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, and Caterpillar!
San Jose Divest: Suggested talking points
| My name is [___]. According to the City of San Jose’s quarterly investment report, over fifty million dollars of our City funds are invested in corporations with direct ties to Israel’s genocide against Palestine. Our money should be used to build societies, not destroy them. Yet, Caterpillar, Alphabet, and Microsoft provide equipment and services that Israel has been using to commit war crimes against Palestinians. Divestment is an effective way to demonstrate how cities across the country can materially support the people of Palestine. I urge you to divest our city funds from these corporations. |
| My name is [___]. I am here to demand that San Jose divest from Israel’s genocide against Palestine. This genocide is older than the current conflict and will not be resolved by a ceasefire agreement. In January of this year, a ceasefire was agreed upon in Gaza, but the military offenses in the West Bank did not cease. And by March, Israel had tightened its illegal blockade and resumed its airstrikes on Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians within a few days and injuring thousands more. We must divest to pressure Israel to comply with international law and end the genocide entirely. |
| My name is [___]. I, along with nearly two thousand other people, have signed a petition demanding that you divest all city funds from Israel’s genocide against Palestine. Over fifty community organizations, non-profits, and small businesses have also endorsed the petition. The diverse and multicultural communities of San Jose refuse to be complicit in genocide and want our city to practice socially responsible and ethical investing. I call on you to exercise your leadership and stand with your constituents by divesting all City funds from Israel’s genocide against Palestine. |
| My name is [___]. People from San Jose’s diverse communities have shown up today to demand that the city of San Jose divest from companies with ties to Israeli apartheid and its genocide against Palestine. We have the moral urgency to take action and stand firmly on the side of peace and justice. We urge you to introduce a divestment resolution and to pass the resolution when the city’s investment portfolio comes up for your approval in March. We must show that San Jose stands against genocide and guarantee that our city will be recorded on the right side of history. |
| My name is [___]. I am proud to be a resident of the diverse and multicultural city of San Jose. Our city has a proud history of being a leading center in the struggle for justice and freedom for all people. I ask that you build upon our city’s legacy by divesting all City funds from Israel’s genocide against Palestine. Other Bay Area cities like Hayward and Richmond have already taken the courageous step of divesting. I urge you to demonstrate your leadership and moral fortitude by joining them. |
| My name is [___]. San Jose is a diverse city and the City Council must recognize the community in its entirety. Palestinian residents are experiencing pain and suffering, and they belong in our community. I urge you to introduce a divestment resolution and to pass the resolution when the city’s investment portfolio comes up for your approval in March. We must show that San Jose stands against genocide and guarantee that our city will be recorded on the right side of history. |
| My name is [___]. A precedent for socially responsible and ethical investing has been set. In 2020, the City of San Jose aligned with its constituents’ values and chose to amend our city council investment policy so that the city would “make no new direct investments in entities that directly engage in exploration, production, refining, or marketing of fossil fuels”. 5 years later, there have been no negative effects on the fund. As our representatives, we demand that you be consistent with our city’s clear values by divesting our city funds from war profiteers complicit in genocide. |
| My name is [___]. I’m calling on San Jose to divest from war profiteers Caterpillar, Alphabet, and Microsoft; investments that amount to only about 2% of San Jose’s investment portfolio. Continuing to invest in these companies breaks public trust and corrodes the values of this city as a public service institution. The benefits of divestment far outweigh any risks or inconvenience associated with this 2% divestment. Richmond has voted to divest nearly 7% of its portfolio due to those companies’ ties with Israel’s genocide. What is preventing the City Council from divesting from genocide? |
Can’t make it? Sign the divestment petitions!
San Jose City Council: Divest from Israel’s Genocide Against Palestine! (only a few more until we reach 2000 signatures!)
Santa Clara County: Stand Against Genocide, Divest from Chevron!