Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center

May 30, 2013: A resolution calling for the boycott of Israeli firms will not
be put to a vote at TIAA-CREF's upcoming shareholders meeting. The move
comes after the pension fund giant received approval from the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) to "take no action" on a submission by
pro-Palestinian activists. This followed the company's warning by an Israeli
civil rights group that passage of the resolution would violate NY and
Federal law.

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center,
stressed that the development was "a major defeat for the extremist Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions movement taking aim at Israel."

Darshan-Leitner underlined that her group discussed "concerns with the SEC
and pointed out that the resolution was in violation of anti-boycott laws.
We noted that TIAA-CREF's corporate charter limited its functions to 'aiding
and strengthening nonprofit colleges, universities,' and we could not
understand how a biased resolution like this could properly be presented to
their membership."

Last month, Tel Aviv-based Shurat HaDin informed TIAA-CREF's leadership that
any attempt to implement the boycott resolution would be illegal. The letter
noted that NY law defines boycotts as "unlawful discriminatory practice" and
that any decision to “refuse to buy from, sell to or trade with, or
otherwise discriminate against any person, because of the…creed…[or]
national origin" was unlawful and even places secondary actors, aiding the
policy, under liability.

The letter pointed out that the Ribicoff Amendment to the Tax Reform Act of
1976 also makes it a federal violation to "participate in or cooperate with
an international boycott."

Darshan-Leitner stressed that if measures were to be actually taken against
Israel, Shurat HaDin would immediately file suit on behalf of Israeli
businesses against TIAA-CREF and to ensure enforcement of state and Federal
anti-discrimination laws.

"We seek to make sure Israeli companies are not harmed as a result of a
newly-adopted policy of discrimination. The BDS movement was looking for a
big public forum to spew their hatred. The SEC ruling has now put an end to
all that. It is an important victory and we are grateful that the SEC gave
TIAA-CREF authorization to ignore extremism," Darshan-Leitner added.

TIAA-CREF, a Fortune 100 financial services group, is the leading retirement
provider for employees in the academic and medical fields. It currently
serves over 3.7 million people. The group is headquartered in New York City,
and has major offices in Denver, Charlotte and Dallas.

Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center is an Israel-based organization dedicated
to enforcing basic human rights through the legal system and represents
victims of terrorism in courtrooms around the world. Its clients include
American, European, and Israeli citizens. It is unaffiliated with any
political party or governmental body.

To view a copy of Shurat HaDin's warning to TIAA-CREF:
http://tinyurl.com/cwtwd5s

For more information:

media@israellawcenter.org

shurathadinisrael@gmail.com

972-3-7514175

Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center

Tel Aviv, Israel

http://www.israellawcenter.org