Citigroup urged employees to “keep their cool” as anti-Israel protesters blockaded the Wall Street giant’s New York headquarters.
Video obtained by the Post shows pro-Palestinian protesters blocking the entrance to Citi’s offices in lower Manhattan, waving signs and chanting slogans including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.”
That’s a shift versus earlier demonstrations over the past three weeks, during which climate activists dressed in orca costumes had gathered outside Citi’s offices chanting “sink their yachts,” sparking scuffles in the plaza and numerous arrests.
“I know many of you have been offended by some of the language and actions, as have I, but we have to keep our cool,” Ed Skyler, Citigroup’s head of enterprise services and public affairs, said in an internal memo this week that was obtained by the Post.
“We respect the right to protest, but not at the expense of our colleagues’ safety nor when others perpetuate abuse or hatred,” Skyler said. “Simply put, we do not tolerate acts of intimidation and violence, and we denounce antisemitism, Islamophobia, acts of hatred, discrimination and prejudice of any kind.”
Anti-Israel protestors have attacked an alleged financial agreement by Citigroup to support Israel’s purchase of fighter jets from the US government.
While Skyler said in the memo that Citi’s 30-year-long presence in Israel is a point of “pride,” the memo said the protestors’ information is false and that the financing of military equipment for the US and its allies requires senior level approval.
Citigroup “will not directly finance” biological, chemical or nuclear weapons and it is rare for the bank to be asked to finance military equipment, a copy of the memo obtained by Bloomberg said.
The climate activists — a group called “Summer of Heat on Wall Street” — said on their website they are targeting coal, oil and gas companies with “joyful, relentless nonviolent direct action.”
“We’re going hard all summer long. Week after week. Month after month,” the website said.
A Summer of Heat spokesperson said Citigroup has “poured $396.3 billion into coal, oil and gas projects since the Paris agreement went into effect in 2016,” citing a Banking Dive report.
“Hundreds of brave activists are holding months of relentless, nonviolent civil disobedience actions to protest Citigroup’s immoral profiteering from the fossil fuel industry that is literally burning our planet,” a Summer of Heat representative told the Post.
Around 200 protestors have been arrested over the past few weeks and protestors have made it their goal to block entrance to the building for staffers, activists told Bloomberg.
“While it is very frustrating when access to our building is temporarily blocked, we have to let the professionals do their job,” Skyler reportedly said in the memo, thanking local law enforcement.
When it comes to environmental measures, Citigroup vowed in 2021 to provide $1 trillion for sustainability efforts through 2030.
“Citi is not the only financial institution facing these protests, and as a global bank, we remain committed to being an active member of the communities we serve,” Skyler said in a copy of the memo obtained by the Post.
