PSC campaigns for British companies and shareholders to divest from Israel and for the government to suspend all trade agreements. Civil society organisations such as trade unions, women’s institutes, ethical trading groups and co-ops, are asked to scrutinise their investments and pension funds, to make sure they are not implicated in supporting Israeli Apartheid.

In the UK, the Churches have given the moral lead in the divestment campaign. The Methodist Conference has referred the matter to its Joint Advisory Committee for Ethical Investment and the equivalent committee of the Church of England has recommended divestment from Caterpillar. This position has been ratified by the General Synod.

The withdrawal of corporate foreign investments in Israel can be complemented by individual shareholders taking their investments away from Israeli companies and companies which benefit Israel. Once a few financial institutions started to withdraw from Apartheid South Africa, a downward spiral was set in motion. In 1985 international financial institutions declined to roll over the loans that they had made available to their various South African clients, and which were due for repayment. South Africa had become an unacceptable risk, both because of its own domestic turbulence, and because of the increasing pressure that finance houses were experiencing from clients, shareholders and the general public in their own countries.