By World BEYOND War, February 20, 2026

On Monday we joined with allies to announce a huge movement win – Scotiabank’s full divestment from Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. The bank once held a stake in Elbit 60 times larger than Canada’s other major banks, making Scotiabank Elbit’s largest foreign shareholder. They currently have zero shares in the company, which is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer.

This enormous win is the culmination of a multi-year campaign World BEYOND War has been honored to be part of alongside key allies. A major divestment like this of a key investor in Israel’s biggest military contractor would not have happened without incredible and ongoing organizing carried out by many groups and individuals, in centralized and decentralized ways, across the country.

As our friend Jody Chan of No Arms in the Arts explains, “this news comes after years of sustained pressure across the country, with thousands protesting at Scotiabank branches, hundreds of artists refusing to let their work whitewash the bank’s complicity, and many more closing their accounts. Against our government’s attempts to use the façade of a ceasefire to normalize Israel’s siege on Gaza, this demonstrates our collective power to define what we find morally unacceptable and force real change.”

From the Canadian BDS Coalition and Just Peace Advocates’ organizing and research about Scotiabank’s investment in Elbit back in early 2023; to the disruption of the Scotiabank-sponsored 2023 Giller Prize’s live broadcast, leading to several arrests and Scotiabank severing ties with the Giller prize; to the repeated takeover of Scotiabank headquarters by Jews Say No to Genocide; to coordinated annual national days of action targeting branches cross-country, our resistance has been relentless and

Learn more via a statement published by lead organizer No Arms in the Arts and insightful media coverage by The Breach and The Maple.

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