TIAA-CREF SHOULD HEAR US, DIVEST FROM ISRAELI APARTHEID

17 July 2011, Charlotte Observer (USA)

From Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009:

As shareholders with the retirement giant TIAA-CREF head to Charlotte this week for their national meeting, there is one issue they will find conspicuously absent from the agenda: divestment from the Israeli Occupation. Despite pleas from shareholders, including medical professionals, students and academics from universities across the United States, the pension fund refused to allow a vote on a resolution that would have compelled TIAA-CREF to consider divestment from companies such as Caterpillar or Elbit. These are companies that profit substantially from the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

In an effort, presumably, to avoid the topic altogether, TIAA-CREF even went so far as to move its annual meeting to Charlotte from its usual location in New York City. But even in Charlotte, they will not be able to escape from "occupation." Throughout the United States and the world, people will continue to speak truth to power about the apartheid perpetrated in the Holy Land.

I, for one, never tire of speaking out against these injustices, because they remind me only too well of what we in South Africa experienced under the racist system of apartheid. I have witnessed firsthand the racially segregated roads and housing in the Occupied Palestinian territories. I have seen the humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children at the checkpoints and roadblocks. I have met Palestinians who were evicted and replaced by Jewish Israeli settlers; Palestinians whose homes were destroyed even as new, Jewish-only homes were illegally built on confiscated Palestinian land.

This oppression, these indignities and the resulting anger are only too familiar. It is no wonder that so many South African leaders in the anti-apartheid struggle, including Nelson Mandela and numerous Jewish leaders, have found ourselves compelled to speak out on this issue.

Though the situation deteriorates daily, I am not without hope. Before apartheid ended, most South Africans did not believe they would live to see a day of liberation. They did not believe that their children, or even their children's children, would see it. But we have seen it, and I know that if apartheid can end in South Africa, so too can this occupation.

We could not have won our freedom in South Africa without the solidarity of people around the world who adopted non-violent methods to pressure governments and corporations to end their support for the apartheid regime. Faith-based groups, unions, students and consumers organized on a grassroots level and catalyzed a global wave of divestment, ultimately contributing to the collapse of apartheid.

More than two decades later, another wave of divestment has emerged, this time with the goal of ending Israel's 44-year-old occupation and its unequal treatment of the Palestinians.

The TIAA-CREF campaign is important because it is one of the most broad-based divestment efforts in the U.S.: thousands of professors, doctors, students, and many other people of conscience are coming forward demanding that the suffering of the Palestinians not be ignored in the company's bottom line. The campaign originated with a call from the American group Jewish Voice for Peace, whose members understand that ending the occupation means a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians; a future in which both the violence of the occupier and the violent resistance of the occupied come to an end, where one people no longer rule over another, and where the cycles of suffering, humiliation and retaliation are broken.

In South Africa we understood that true peace could be built only on the basis of justice and an unwavering commitment to universal rights for all humans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, national origin or any other identity attribute. I encourage TIAA-CREF, whose slogan is "for the greater good," to heed the call for divestment, to refuse to profit from oppression of a people, and thus to stand on the side of what is right: a safe, secure and peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis.

Why am I organizing the Gaza boat? Because Jewish history commands me

21 June 2011, Mondoweiss http://mondoweiss.net (USA)

by Jane Hirschmann*

People often ask me why I am part of a team to organize a U.S. Boat to Gaza that will be sailing this month with the next International Flotilla to break the siege of Gaza. They often make clear they are asking because I am an American Jew, whose family survived the Holocaust with some surviving family members ending up in Israel. And my only answer is: How could I not?

My parents raised me with stories about what happened in Germany and their family’s escape. I came to see that Israel represented for them a safe haven should there be another attempt at annihilating Jews. And yet, at the same time, they worried it was not so safe a haven given the animosity and physical threats and violence in the area.

But no one ever mentioned the displacement of 750,000 Arabs that was the result of the creation of Israel. I vaguely knew there were people living there, but I was never curious about who these “others” were. All I took away from my family’s history and the atrocities endured was that this should never happen again to anyone, anywhere.

Growing up in the ‘60s, I became active in opposition to the war in Vietnam, the anti-apartheid struggle and the women’s rights movement and later became involved in opposing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a social worker, I was focused on social justice issues but never questioned the relationship between the U.S. and Israel and their policies regarding Palestinians.

Then came the war on Gaza and a real political awakening for me.

Operation Cast Lead and the Goldstone Report were the catalysts. In November 2008, the ceasefire ended: Israeli soldiers broke it in a cross-border raid killing six members of Hamas and, in response, rockets were launched into Israel. Israel, fortified with American weaponry, attacked the people of Gaza. Approximately 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed compared to 13 Israelis. Gaza was pulverized. Judge Richard Goldstone and his team did a thorough report of the causalities on both sides. There was no doubt that the people of Gaza were disproportionally affected.

Right after the invasion in Gaza I realized I could no longer remain silent. I became one of the organizers of a group called Jews Say No! in New York City. We wanted to speak out and to make clear that the Israeli government did not speak in our name as they claimed. I began reading about the occupation, settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the building of the separation wall, Jewish-only streets for Israeli settlers, special identity papers for Palestinian citizens of Israel (one step away from wearing a yellow star) and the other indignities endured by the people of Palestine on a daily basis. And I saw the total collusion by the U.S. government – its unconditional support no matter what the Israeli government did, including giving them 30 billion dollars over a 10-year period for weaponry (F16s, Apache helicopters, white phosphorous, Caterpillar bulldozers used to destroy homes in Bedouin encampments) used ruthlessly against the Palestinians. This was intolerable for me.

I understand the fears and frustrations of Israelis being fired upon by rockets and the resultant deaths and injuries. But what about the thousands of Palestinians being killed and whose homes, schools, hospitals, farms, mills, factories and infrastructure are being destroyed? What about a people living under a brutal occupation who are being denied the right to live with dignity in their own homeland?

The siege and blockade of Gaza continue. The Israeli government controls the land, sea and air of this small area (25 miles long and roughly six miles wide) where 1.6 million people live. There has been no movement in recent years unless Israel allowed it. (Egypt’s partial opening of the Rafah gate to human traffic, though not to commerce, is a positive sign if it is allowed to grow). Most people cannot travel in or out of Gaza because of continuing restrictions, 61 percent of the population is food insecure, the unemployment rate is around 45 percent, one of the highest in the world, and exports remain banned with the exception of limited items like strawberries and carnations for European markets. Gaza is called an open-air prison even by England’s Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Given all this, I can remain silent no longer. Every day Palestinians are confronting the Israeli government at the wall, at check points, at demolition sites. They risk their lives. Like the Freedom Rides our boat is sailing to call attention to the illegal occupation and siege of Gaza.

My humanity and my Jewishness – Jewish history – demand my being part of an organizing effort to end the inhumane treatment of the Palestinians. The U.S. Boat, called The Audacity of Hope, will sail in late June to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla 2-Stay Human. We will be approximately 50 individuals from across the U.S. committed to non-violence, human rights and freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.

To date, tens of thousands of individuals and over 80 organizations have endorsed this U.S. campaign and each day more sign on to travel with us in name. We travel in peace for justice, and I am proud to be part of this international effort.

*Jane Hirschmann is a member of Jews Say No!, a psychotherapist from New York City, co-author of three books, and one of the organizers of the U.S. Boat to Gaza. More information about the The Audacity of Hope is available at www.ustogaza.org.

UPDATE: Original headline on this post said that Hirschmann is on the boat. She is not.

Caterpillar Board confronted in Little Rock over sale of bulldozers to Israel

8 June 2011, Jewish Voice for Peace http://wedivest.org (USA)

Caterpillar Board confronted in Little Rock over sale of bulldozers to Israel

21% of shareholders ask for review of company’s human rights practices

For immediate release

Contact Sydney Levy (Jewish Voice for Peace) 415-994-4854

(June 8, 2011) At its annual shareholder meeting, the Caterpillar Board of Directors was confronted once again with shareholders and activists upset about the use of Caterpillar bulldozers to demolish Palestinian homes.

Since 2004, Jewish Voice for Peace, together with grassroots activists and an interfaith coalition of shareholders, has been attending the Caterpillar shareholder meetings in the Chicago area to hold the company accountable for their bulldozers being used to demolish Palestinian homes. This year, Caterpillar moved its shareholder meeting to Little Rock, AK, in an apparent attempt to make the meeting less accessible to company shareholders and to dampen criticism of the company’s human rights practices. Despite Caterpillar’s efforts, criticism of the company’s policies is on the rise. Over 2,500 people have contacted the Caterpillar Board of Directors within the last 24 hours, asking how many more Palestinians need to be made homeless before Caterpillar reacts.

The United Nations is reporting a two-fold increase in the rate of Palestinian home demolitions by the Israeli authorities this year. These demolitions have razed entire villages again and again. The Bedouin village of Al-Arakib in the Negev has already been destroyed by Caterpillar bulldozers 21 times.

Russ Greenleaf, representing Jewish Voice for Peace and a coalition of interfaith shareholders, presented a shareholder proposal asking Caterpillar to review its human policies. The proposal got 21% of the shareholder votes (provisional results).
“Caterpillar’s sale of D9 bulldozers to Israel is not good for Israel, nor is it good for Caterpillar’s reputation,” said Mr. Greenleaf. “[Caterpillar] management buries its head in the sand when dealing with human rights,” he added. [Read Mr. Greenleaf's speech and the shareholder proposal here.]

Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman confirmed this assertion when he responded to the overwhelming evidence of Caterpillar bulldozers used to commit human right violations against Palestinians by saying, “How our customers use [the bulldozers] is their business. We can’t stop them.”

Yet Caterpillar has the power to stop the sale of these bulldozers today, if they so choose. According to news reports, the deliveries of Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel have been suspended during the length of the Corrie trial in Israel. Cindy and Craig Corrie, are bringing a civil suit against the government of Israel in a court in Tel Aviv. Their daughter, Rachel, was a 23-year-old American peace activist killed under under a CAT bulldozer when she tried to protect the home of the Nasrallah family in Gaza from an Israeli army demolition. At the shareholder meeting, Caterpillar’s CEO would “neither confirm nor deny” that any shift in policy or practice has taken place.

ABOUT JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE
Jewish Voice for Peace is America’s largest Jewish grassroots peace group dedicated to reaching a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on the principles of equality and international human rights law.

JVP recently led a campaign to support Israeli artists’ boycott of the Ariel settlement. The campaign secured the signatures of over 200 artists dozens of Broadway and Hollywood’s leading figures including Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Theodore Bikel, Eve Ensler, Julianne Moore, Mandy Patinkin, Miriam Margolyes, Cynthia Nixon, Roseanne Barr, Ethan Hawke, Ed Asner, the architect Frank Gehry and more.

JVP works with activists in Palestine and Israel, and in broad coalition with other Jewish, Arab-American, faith-based, and peace and social justice organizations to support the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians for justice, security and self-determination.

Jewish Voice for Peace calls for:
* A U.S. foreign policy based on promoting peace, democracy, human rights, and respect for international law
* An end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem
* A resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem consistent with international law and equity
* An end to all violence against civilians


SPEECH BY RUSS GREENLEAF AT CATERPILLAR SHAREHOLDER MEETING

8 june 2011, Jewish Voice for Peace http://wedivest.org (USA)
Hi. I’m Russ Greenleaf, a shareholder with Jewish Voice for Peace and a coalition of religious organizations, speaking in favor of Proposal 11.

I am Jewish. I am not anti-Israel. I have friends in Israel, and I want what’s best for them.

Caterpillar’s sale of D9 bulldozers to Israel is not good for Israel or for Caterpillar’s reputation.

Israel’s routine use of those D9’s to destroy the homes of innocent Palestinian’s is making Israel a pariah in the world and destroying any chance for peace.
Amnesty International says, and I quote:

“House demolitions usually are carried out without warning, often at night, and the occupants are given little or no time to leave their homes. Often the only warning they get is the rumbling of the Israeli army’s Caterpillar bulldozers. They barely have time to flee as the bulldozers tear down the walls of their homes.” [Sometimes they are buried alive under the rubble.]

An Israeli newspaper reported that an Israeli army D9 dozer operator said, and I quote:

“I had no mercy for anybody. I would erase anyone with the D9. They were warned by loudspeaker to get out of the house before I came, but I gave no one a chance. I didn’t wait. I didn’t give one blow and wait for them to come out. I would just ram the house with full power, to bring it down as fast as possible.”

Ladies and gentlemen these are very serious human rights violations, and they happen again and again — with our knowledge.

The Israeli army says, quote: “The D9 is a strategic weapon here.”

Fellow shareholders, our product has become Israel’s weapon of choice for ethnic cleansing and potentially even war crimes.

Israel knows it, and the world knows it.
Yet our management buries its head in the sand when dealing with human rights. They say, quote:

“It’s not clear what is meant by the Company’s ‘policies related to human rights.’ ”
That is exactly why we need proposal 11 – a call to review Caterpillar’s policies related to human rights and to conform more fully with human rights standards.

Caterpillar makes very little money from selling these military D9’s to Israel, and the cost to Caterpillar’s reputation is enormous and escalating. It’s time to call a halt. Passing proposal 11 is a very modest first step in that direction. It’s long overdue.

I move proposal 11. Please vote for it.

PROPOSAL 11 — Review of Global Corporate Standards

Whereas, Caterpillar, a global corporation, faces increasingly complex problems as the international social and cultural context changes.

Companies are faced with ethical and legal challenges arising from diverse cultures and political and economic contexts. Today, management must address issues that include human rights, workers’ right to organize, non-discrimination in the workplace, protection of environment and sustainable community development. Caterpillar itself does business in countries with human rights challenges including China, Colombia, Myanmar/Burma, Syria and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

We believe global companies must implement comprehensive codes of conduct, such as those found in “Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility: Bench Marks for Measuring Business Performance,” developed by an international group of religious investors. (www.bench-marks.org) Companies must formulate policies to reduce risk to reputation in the global marketplace. To address this situation, some companies, such as Hewlett-Packard and Coca-Cola, are even extending policies to include franchisees, licensees and agents that market, distribute or sell their products.

In August 2003, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights took historic action by adopting “Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights.”(www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/NormsApril2003.html)

RESOLVED: shareholders request the Board of Directors to review and amend, where applicable, Caterpillar’s policies related to human rights that guide international and U.S. operations, extending policies to include franchisees, licensees and agents that market, distribute or sell its products, to conform more fully with international human rights and humanitarian standards, and that a summary of this review be posted on Caterpillar’s website by October 2011.

Supporting Statement of Proponent

Caterpillar’s current policy, the Worldwide Code of Conduct, contains no references to existing international human rights codes except for a corporate policy of non-discrimination, and aspirational goals to maintain employee health and safety. It does not apply to company dealers whose activities can carry extensive reputational risks for Caterpillar. We believe company policies should reflect more robust, comprehensive understanding of human rights.

We recommend the review include policies designed to protect human rights-civil, political, social, environmental, cultural and economic-based on internationally recognized human rights standards, i.e., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Fourth Geneva Convention, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, core labor standards of the International Labor Organization, International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, and United Nations resolutions and reports of UN special rapporteurs on countries where Caterpillar does business.

This review and report will assure shareholders that Caterpillar policies and practices reflect or conform to human rights conventions and guidelines and international law. We are not recommending specific provisions of the above-named international conventions. We believe significant commercial advantages may accrue to Caterpillar by adopting a comprehensive policy based on UN Human Rights Norms serving to enhance corporate reputation, improve employee recruitment and retention, improve community and stakeholder relations and reduce risk of adverse publicity, consumer boycotts, divestment campaigns and lawsuits.