Attorney General Miyares expressed his concerns, stating, “Investment companies making political stands with consumers’ money in the name of ‘environmental, social, and governance’ standards is wrong, reckless, and dangerous. Further leaning into those radical policies by embracing the BDS movement and punishing Israeli companies for defending themselves against terrorist attacks is inexcusable.”
In August of 2022, 17 state attorneys general sent a letter to Morningstar, a large investing ratings company, expressing “serious concerns related to reports that Morningstar—through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sustainalytics—may be furthering the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.”
The Jewish News Syndicate reported that “Like Morningstar, which allegedly assigned damaging ratings to a dozen companies that it said committed ‘human rights violations’ simply for conducting business in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, MSCI’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) ratings appear to downgrade companies for the same reason.”
The attorneys general, including Attorney General Miyares, oppose the BDS movement, with one of the allegations against MSCI being described as uniquely egregious. According to JNS, MSCI deducted ESG points from an Israeli company specifically because of the company’s ‘participation in the construction of security and surveillance barriers designed to protect Israelis from terrorists.’
Attorney General Miyares was joined by 17 other states in signing the letter, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.