Harvard University has reported that it sold all of its shares in Israeli companies between the first and second reporting period.As Professor Bainbridge points out, there may be technical reasons for the selling:In one sense, Harvard did divest--they dumped all their Israeli stocks. But most people use divest in a more nuanced way; i.e., to intentionally sell and thereafter refrain from investing in stocks of a particular country for political reasons. So the interesting question is why Harvard sold the stocks at issue. Was it coincidence, a purely investment-driven decision, or a surrender to political activists opposed to Israel? Only the latter would count as divestment in my book.But the Israeli business publication Globes Online seems more certain:In another blow to Israeli shares, the Harvard Management Company notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday that it had sold all its holdings in Israeli companies during the second quarter of 2010. No reason...(Read Full Post)