Departing UN Commissioner: Conditions in Gaza horrendous by Genevieve Cora Fraser, The Palestine Chronicle Weekly Journal January 19, 2005 "“As you approach the southern end of Gaza - where Kann Yunis and Rafah have seen continued destruction, where the numbers of people who have been made homeless by bulldozers exceeds 25,000 - we have managed to re-house 8,000 of them but we are fighting a losing battle. We can not build as fast as the destruction takes place. So, Gaza is in a very, very poor state."
Israeli army demolished two houses near Bethlehem by George Rishmawi , International Middle East Media Center January 17, 2005 Bulldozers rolled in the early hours of day and began demolishing two houses in the village of Walajeh near Bethlehem. The residents of Al-Walajeh village are living an awkward situation. Their village has been annexed to Jerusalem, but they are considered Bethlehem residents.
US should help stop land grabs by Priscilla Read, Providence Journal, Rhode Island January 15, 2005 The most recent outrage began late last year, when Israeli bulldozers lumbered into Jayyous and began razing crops, to clear land for expansion of the neighboring Israeli settlement of Zufim. In a single day in December, 117 ancient olive trees were ripped from the ground. The bulldozers reappeared on subsequent days to continue their assault. On Dec. 29, Steven Erlanger reported in The New York Times that 650 trees, many of them 600 years old, had been uprooted. For the farmers whose livelihood depends on olive, this is a catastrophe.
Gaza: Bulldozers at work, 300 are newly homeless News from Gaza December 31, 2004 "I was sleeping and heard the loud speakers. The soldiers were saying we had to leave our houses at once. So we ran out into the very chilly weather and ran for the UN school" he said.
The Abu Houli family houses, October 2000 Amnesty International May 18, 2004 "We were stunned; all we had time for was to get the children to safety; by the time we had done that, within a few minutes the bulldozers began destroying the house and there was no time to salvage anything."
Affidavit of Anonymous Rabbis for Human Rights Anonymous' house was destroyed not once, but twice by the Jerusalem municipality. In his chilling testimony, Anonymous describes his choice to remain anonymous as he was offered a job as an informer by the Israeli Secret Services in exchange for keeping his house standing. This affidavit was presented in the trial of Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who stands accused of standing before the Israeli army bulldozers to protect Palestinian homes from demolition.
Picking up the pieces in Gaza by Peter Hansen, UNRWA June 30, 2003 Very few of the demolitions target the families of suicide bombers or of those wanted by Israel. Instead the victims are simply people living in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those living near the Egyptian border in Rafah in the south of Gaza have the misfortune of being in a place where Israel feels the need to widen its security zone at the border.
"I made them a stadium in the middle of the camp" by Tsadok Yeheskeli, Yediot Aharonot May 30, 2003 Interview with Moshe Nessim, driver of a Caterpillar D9 in Jenin refugee camp. Eye witness testimony from a Caterpillar driver who became the terror of the Jenin refugee camp and boasts of his actions.
House demolitions hit 12,700 in West Bank and Gaza Strip UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) Report May 7, 2003 The total number of Palestinians made homeless by Israeli's military demolition campaign climbed above 12,000 this month following a rapid acceleration of the policy in Gaza during the first quarter of this year?Recent months have seen a sharp increase in house demolitions in the Gaza Strip. At the end of 2002, total and partial demolitions had until then averaged under 30 per month.
Policies of destruction MIFTAH February 22, 2003 Detailed facts and figures on the number of Palestinian homes destroyed by Israel in 2001-03 based on reporting by Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations.
Israeli demolitions hit Palestinian economy BBC January 23, 2003 On Tuesday Israeli bulldozers flattened about 60 shops and small businesses in the village of Nazlat Issa near Tulkarm. Demolition orders for another 50 shops have also been issued. The Palestinian economy will be hit hard if Israel bulldozes more West Bank shops and small businesses, the World Bank has warned.
Israelis flatten West Bank shops by Jeremy Cooke, BBC January 21, 2003 Israeli bulldozers have demolished more than 60 Palestinian shops and small businesses near the West Bank town of Tulkarm.
The message of the bulldozers by Jeff Halper, Counterpunch August 9, 2002 For the past six years the ICAHD [The Israeli Committee against House Demolitions] has been working on the issue of house demolitions. Every time we think: "OK, we've exhausted the subject, let's go on to other, perhaps more pressing issues," the systematic destruction of Palestinian homes returns to the center of the conflict with a vengeance. It happened in the Jenin refugee camp, where the indomitable drivers of the massive D-9 Caterpillar bulldozers labored for three straight days and nights demolishing more than 300 homes in the densely packed camp, thereby becoming the heroes of the invasion. And it is happening today as Israel demolishes dozens of houses belonging to families of terrorists, a form of collective punishment that is clearly a war crime.
Sur Baher: 'Caterpillar did it again!' by Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada June 11, 2002 'Caterpillar did it again!' I thought looking at a picture of the latest home demolition of Palestinian homes. This morning, Amer, a colleage, walked quickly down the stairs of the office. 'I have to run,' he said, 'there is another home demolition'. 'Where? In Sur Baher'.
The Caterpillar Effect by Neve Gordon, Counterpunch June 2, 2002 This is the first time that bulldozers have determined the outcome of a war," L., one of the Palestinian fighters from the Jenin refugee camp was recently quoted in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronot. The officer in charge of the military penetration into the camp affirmed L.'s claim, declaring in the same article that the D9 drivers had won the day. And indeed, every television station around the world showed graphic pictures of Jenin houses turned debris.
Israel demolishes 'illegal' homes by Caroline Hawley, BBC February 6, 2002 Israeli bulldozers have begun demolishing several Palestinian homes in occupied east Jerusalem, which Israeli officials say were built without permits. Israeli policemen stood guard as the bulldozers roared into action. The rubble they left behind was another symbol of the battle for Jerusalem.
A crime against the innocent by Gideon Levy , Ha'aretz January 13, 2002 Can we, the Israelis, even begin to imagine what it feels like to have bulldozers suddenly appear in the middle of the night and plow under everything a family has, as they and their children watch? Did the decision makers take into account the hatred they are sowing in the hearts of the children who witnessed the destruction of their homes?
Gazan homes turned to rubble BBC July 12, 2001 The United States and Britain called for the demolitions to stop, describing them as highly provocative. The United Nations commissioner responsible for Palestinian refugees described the bulldozing in Rafah as "senseless".
Cat Bulldozers Build the Separation Wall
Hundreds of dunams bulldozed near Hebron by Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center October 10, 2004 A local source in Hebron said that soldiers bulldozed hundreds of Dunams in the villages of Dir Al-Asal Al-Foqa, and Dir Al-Asal Al-Tihta, in the south west of Hebron, in the south of the West Bank, on Sunday morning. The uprooting of the fields and trees comes in preparation to the separation wall in the area.
Bulldozers back, as well as peaceful demonstrators by IMEMC Staff & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center June 17, 2004 Residents of Skaka village, east of the west bank city of Salfit resumed Thursday morning their peaceful protests after army bulldozers continued in the early morning hours uprooting trees in order to prepare the ground for the construction of the separation wall.
Bulldozers uproot trees to build the separation wall in the village of ‘Izbat Salman Amnesty International May 18, 2004 Thousands of olive and citrus trees and vast vegetable orchards were destroyed to make way for fences, ditches and patrol lanes. The villagers were not even notified in advance of the land confiscations. Some only found out when the Israeli army bulldozers arrived and started to uproot trees and whatever else was on the land.
Budrus, a story of a proud peaceful resistance by Bilal Gheith, International Middle East Media Center February 2, 2004 Villagers of Budrus are engaged in a daily struggle trying with their bodies to prevent bulldozers from uprooting their trees and build a 40 meters wide barrier that will take away most of the village land, the only source of living for most of them.
Home demolitions to make way for the Wall International Solidarity Movement August 5, 2003 Photos of a Caterpillar bulldozer destroying part of a Palestinian home near the village of Mash'a on Aug. 5, 2003 while International Solidarity Movement members attempt to block the demolition. The building was slated for demolition by the Israeli military because it lay in the path of the separation Wall that Israel is building inside the West Bank.
Palestinian village faces annihilation The Palestine Monitor January 14, 2003 Israeli bulldozers will destroy the entire village of Al-Daba? in the Qalqilya district. The village consists of 250 Palestinians living in 42 houses. Sixty ton American made armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers will make short work of 42 houses, 600-700 dunums of agricultural land, a mosque, and an elementary school for 132 children.
'When we came back they had destroyed all the houses' by Chris McGreal at Jabaliya refugee camp, The Guardian October 18, 2004 In July, a 75 year-old man in a wheelchair, Ibrahim Halfalla, was crushed to death under the rubble of his Khan Yunis home by an army bulldozer because he did not get out in time.
Corries push U.S. Government to investigate their daughter's death by Alexa Smith, PCUSA News October 15, 2004 "It's a powerful corporation, and in this country we see the equipment building roads and planting fields. But in the West Bank and Gaza . . . what we saw was the rubble that remained after Caterpillar was used to destroy. Caterpillar equipment is used to demolish homes, wreck orchards and vegetable gardens. All kinds of things that provide people with the ability to sustain themselves." Cindy Corrie
If it were the reverse by Gideon Levy, Haaretz July 18, 2004 What would happen if a Palestinian terrorist were to detonate a bomb at the entrance to an apartment building in Israel and cause the death of an elderly man in a wheelchair, who would later be found buried under the rubble of the building? Last Monday, Israel Defense Forces bulldozers in Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, demolished the home of Ibrahim Halfalla, a 75-year-old disabled man and father of seven, and buried him alive.
Conscientious objector by Khaled Amayrah, Al-Ahram Weekly July 15, 2004 Ibrahim Mahmoud Khalafallah, a 70-year-old blind wheelchair-bound grandfather, was at home asleep in the Khan Younis refugee camp, when an Israeli bulldozer pulverised his meagre dwelling crushing him to death. Some conscientious Israeli soldiers have chosen to go to prison rather than enforce these policies.
Surveying the ruins of Rafah by Alan Johnston, BBC correspondent in Gaza, BBC May 22, 2004 "One thing that strikes you is that so many people said they had their homes bulldozed while they were in the houses." UN representativem surveying the extensive damage in Gaza.
One step ahead of the bulldozer by Amira Hass, Haaretz May 21, 2004 "I begged him [the bulldozer driver] to stop, to let us get out of the house. He blocked the entrance. Sitting behind glass, the driver never heard us ... We were just a second away from being killed - 50 persons, children, the elderly, women, all of us with our backs to the wall, with the bulldozer plowing toward us. The driver never heard us. The destruction happened quickly, faster than anything that could be said to stop it."
UNRWA: “Israeli Army demolished 31 houses in Rafah in 24 hours” by IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center March 19, 2004 A report published by UNRWA, Thursday, revealed that the Israeli Army has completely demolished 31 houses, during its military operation in Rafah and its refugee camps Wednesday. IMEMC correspondent in Rafah said, the Israeli soldiers did not respect the white flag. A woman raising the white flag did not stop the bulldozer driver of demolition the wall of her house that was in its way.
Report from CNN International cnn.com March 25, 2003 "Tom Dale, who said he was about 10 yards from Corrie, said she was in plain view and was wearing an orange jacket. As the bulldozer lifted a pile of earth, it moved forward and caught Corrie under its blade, he said."
Four eyewitnesses describe the murder of Rachel Corrie by Tom Dale, Greg Schnabel, Richard Purssell, and Joe Smith, International Solidarity Movement March 19, 2003 Four of the seven International Solidarity Movement members present at the time of Rachel Corrie?s murder present their recollections of the incident: Tom Dale (US), Greg Schnabel (UK), Richard Purssell (UK), and Joe Smith (US). Greg and Richard's accounts are more formal accounts. Tom and Joe's accounts are excerpted from e-mails to friends and families. Courtesy of the International Solidarity Movement.
Photo story: Israeli bulldozer driver murders American peace activist by Nigel Parry and Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada March 16, 2003 On 16 March 2003 in Rafah, occupied Gaza, 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie from Olympia, Washington, was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver. Rachel was in Gaza opposing the bulldozing of a Palestinian home as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement.
Poverty on the Rise in Gaza as Israel Seeks Billions in US Aid by Kristen Ess, The Palestine Chronicle Weekly Journal December 19, 2002 A deaf man in the north did not hear the Israeli soldiers mega-phone demand that he run from his home and was crushed, as was an elderly man who told his neighbors he could not be humilitated by Israel anymore. A farmer, now living in a tent after the Israeli military bulldozed his house and most of his area in the north of Rafah, told me, "They are not letting us grow things. They just bulldozed my fields. This is my land. I won't leave. We won't leave. They can kill me here. They will kill me here."
The al-Shu’bi family, April 2002 Amnesty International November 4, 2002 On 6 April, a house in the Qasbah of Nablus was bulldozed by the IDF on top of 10 members of the al-Shu’bi family. Eight members of the al-Shu’bi family were killed including three children, their pregnant mother and 85-year-old grandfather. The IDF clearly failed to ensure that there were no people in the house when they destroyed it.
The case of Jamal Fayed, April 2002 Amnesty International November 4, 2002 It is clear that people were not always given sufficient time to evacuate homes before the IDF began bulldozing them. In one such case, Jamal Fayed, a 38-year-old man, was killed when the bulldozing of his home caused a wall of his house to collapse on him.
Caterpillar's Responsibility
Optimism is one thing, bulldozers another by Amira Hass, Haaretz February 2, 2005 "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be optimistic [...]. The problem arises when optimism acts as an anesthetic, and when the optimists make do with talk and take no interest in bulldozers." In this article Amira Hass uses the image of the bulldozers to epitomize in real terms what's wrong with the occupation.
Jewish group files shareholder resolution asking Caterpillar to investigate Israeli human rights violations Jewish Voice for Peace November 22, 2004 California-based Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) announced today that it has filed a shareholder resolution requesting Caterpillar,Inc. to review whether the sale of its equipment to the Israeli army violates the corporation’s own Code of Worldwide Business Conduct. This move comes on the heels of a release by Human Rights Watch of a letter calling on Caterpillar, Inc. to "cease all sales of the D-9 to the Israeli army."
The trouble with bulldozers by Don Nash, Information Clearing House October 6, 2004 Israel gets it’s bulldozers from the good old U.S. of A. The premier supplier of bulldozers in the U.S. is Caterpillar. Caterpillar is complicit in Israel’s bulldozing of Palestinian property and people yes, people. Mr. C.E.O. of Caterpillar Company, how does it feel knowing full well that your bulldozers are quite satisfactory in the killing of innocent people? Why they would be the machine of choice among governments that prefer bulldozing people to bulldozing land, two to one. You will get no mercy or sympathy from me on this one Mr. Caterpillar.
US bulldozer firm in Mid-East row BBC News June 14, 2004 A leading UN official has warned US manufacturer Caterpillar that it may be complicit in human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza.
Read the letter sent from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to CAT's CEO, Mr. James Owens by Jean Ziegeler, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights May 28, 2004 "...there is also a concern that allowing the delivery of your D-9 and D-10 Caterpillar bulldozers to the Israeli army through the Government of the United States in the certain knowledge that they are being used for such actions, might involve complicity or acceptance on the part of your company to actual and potential violations of human rights, including the right to food."
The crisis in Rafah: Caterpillar should do the right thing, now by Elizabeth Corrie, Atlanta Indymedia May 21, 2004 When I pointedly mention that Caterpillar manufactured the bulldozer used to kill Rachel, I am sometimes asked whether it is reasonable to suggest that Caterpillar bears some responsibility for Rachel's death, and for the deaths and homelessness of Palestinians. I concede that, legally, it is difficult to make this case. Morally, however, it is not, and it is to the consciences of the people who manage, work for, and invest in Caterpillar that I appeal.
Proche-Orient. Philippe Luxereau : "Israel commet des crimes de guerre " by Pierre Barbancey, Journal l'Humanité May 19, 2004 "Israel commits war crimes." French interview in L'Humanité with Philippe Luxereau, in charge of monitoring human rights in Israel and the Occupied Territories for Amnesty International-France. Mr. Luxereau condemns the policy of home demolitions and the use of Caterpillar bulldozers to that effect.
Caterpillar under fire by Selena Maranjian (TMF Selena) , Motley Fool May 17, 2004 Social responsibility activists and shareholders have recently been urging the company to change its ways -- but they're not talking about pollution, labor conditions or animal testing. No, nothing like that. They're concerned because the company's bulldozers are being used by the Israeli army to raze Palestinian homes. (It was also a Caterpillar bulldozer that crushed 23-year-old American protester Rachel Corrie in Gaza in 2003.)
Inching out of the corporate cocoon by Liat Weingart and Cecilie Surasky, SojoNet April 21, 2004 Article from Sojourners, a Christian ministry that seeks to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice. As the article points out, Caterpillar doesn't deny that their bulldozers have been used to violate human rights. No one does. What CAT denies is responsibility for how their bulldozers are used by claiming they don't have the legal right to police the individual use of their equipment. Activists disagree. They point out that Caterpillar bulldozers are explicitly sold to the Israeli government through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales Program - as weapons of war. In answering the question of corporate complicity in the violation of human rights, JVP looks back to a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court that made a groundbreaking decision in the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. The company that is producing the weapons that make wanton destruction possible are equally, if not more, responsible for the crime.
Caterpillar's Choice by Liat Weingart, Sister Valerie Heinonen, and Mary Ann McGivern, ZNet | Mideast April 20, 2004 On April 14, an American corporation was confronted with the choice of whether or not to examine their role in perpetuating the cycle of violence in the Mideast.
Speeches to Caterpillar shareholders April 14, 2004 Speeches delivered to Caterpillar shareholders at the 2004 annual shareholder meeting by Liat Weingart of Jewish Voice for Peace and Mary Ann McGivern of the Sisters of Loretto.
These are the Indians… by Phyllis, International Solidarity Movement March 25, 2004 I nearly cried when I saw a Caterpillar bulldozer drawing of a young child, bulldozing his house down. His rendition of something he experienced. My father retired from 36 years of Caterpillar in East Peoria. It fed us. Bulldozers, turnapulls, road graders...these, to me, are instruments of construction, not destruction.
Destruction of Palestinian homes by Caterpillar bulldozers violates conditions of U.S.-backed roadmap and international laws September 25, 2003 As the Bush Administration moves to cut financing for Israel's settlements, the largest grassroots Jewish peace group in the U.S. announced today that it is targeting Illinois-based Caterpillar Corporation for its role in diminishing the chances for Middle East peace. Caterpillar has knowingly allowed its bulldozers to be used by the Israeli military for the demolition of thousands of Palestinian homes, settlement construction, and the building of Israel's Wall.
Should corporations care? The Caterpillar Conundrum by Charmaine Stanley, Shout Monthly June 1, 2002 What are the responsibilities of corporations in conflict zones? The sale of bulldozers to any government would not ordinarily raise eyebrows. Unlike tanks or bombs, a bulldozer seems a relatively innocuous - if powerful - machine which might be used for any number of productive civilian purposes. In Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, however, these machines have been used to carry out housing demolitions that achieve Israeli strategic and demographic objectives while violating the human rights of Palestinians and further eroding the peace process.
Bulldozers sold as weapons, not as construction equipment Jewish Voice for Peace August 22, 2003 Letter from CAT CEO Jim Owens, August 22, 2003: "With regard to Israel, sales between Caterpillar and the U.S. government are openly conducted through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales Program. Created under the Camp David Accord, the Foreign Military Sales Program allocates funds to be used by foreign militaries in the purchase of American-made commercial products, of which Caterpillar products are included."
Caterpillar's Code of Worldwide Business Conduct "Caterpillar accepts the responsibilities of global citizenship. Wherever we conduct business or invest our resources around the world, we know that our commitment to financial success must also take into account social priorities."
Kicked around by the Israeli military by Aaron Lakoff, Scoop February 1, 2005 Three of us ISM activists were caught, trapped between a massive Caterpillar wrecking machine and the army. Another amazing act of resistance took place when a prayer session was held directly in front of the bulldozers. The soldiers just looked on as if puzzled, not knowing what to do or who to point their guns at.
A vote by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to use economic sanctions against certain companies doing business with Israel – namely those that profit from the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza – has set off a quiet firestorm within the American religious community.
Activists ask Seattle to divest Seattle Palestine Solidarity Committee December 1, 2004 We are not calling for a boycott of all Israeli companies, or of all companies that do business with Israel. Our demand is specific: withdraw financial support from companies that sell equipment to Israel's military occupation, and send a clear signal that Seattle does not support illegal or immoral actions, at home or abroad.
Rights group calls on Caterpillar to halt bulldozer sales to Israel by Jim Lobe, Common Dreams November 23, 2004 Human Rights Watch has called on Caterpillar Inc., the Illinois-based heavy-equipment giant, to immediately suspend sales of its D9 bulldozer to the Israeli army on the grounds that they are being used to violate international humanitarian law in the occupied territories.
Holocaust survivor protests wall by Hedy Epstein, Scoop November 8, 2004 In Bethlehem, I saw a Caterpillar bulldozer ripping up centuries-old olive trees to clear a path for rolled razor wire and antitank trenches.
Jewish peace group challenges Caterpillar's Israel business by Alexa Smith, Presbyterian News Service October 11, 2004 A Jewish group has submitted a shareholders' resolution to Caterpillar Inc., arguing that the heavy machinery company may be risking its reputation by continuing to sell to the Israeli army bulldozers that are used to demolish the homes and orchards of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This is the second time that Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) has aligned itself with Christian groups that oppose the ongoing use of Caterpillar equipment to commit what the international community has called human rights violations in the occupied territories, or what the shareholders' resolution describes as "the destruction of homes, land and other properties."
Nuns squeeze Caterpillar by Alexa Smith, Presbyterian News Service August 2, 2004 Article about the shareholder resolution introduced by Roman Catholic nuns and Jewish Peace activists at Caterpillar's 2004 annual shareholder meeting. The article also looks at how the Presbyterian Church (USA) is researching its policies and setting criteria to begin a selective, phased divestment of stock in Israel-related companies whose practices hinder peacemaking efforts.
Pressure grows on Caterpillar to stop sale of bulldozers to Israel by Ellis Shuman, Israel Insider June 22, 2004 A United Nations human rights investigator last week warned Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. against selling construction equipment to Israel because it "might involve complicity ... to actual and potential violations of human rights, including the right to food." Jean Ziegler, an expert on the right to food in the Geneva offices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, sent a letter to Caterpillar CEO James Owens on May 28 complaining that "Israeli occupation forces" are "using armored bulldozers supplied by your company to destroy agricultural farms, greenhouses, ancient olive groves and agricultural fields planted with crops, as well as numerous Palestinian homes and sometimes human lives, including that of the American peace activist, Rachel Corrie." Israeli officials are concerned that Caterpillar might change its policy and refuse to sell additional D-9 and D-10 bulldozers to the IDF, Maariv reported today. The officials said the company may reconsider its policies due to the intensive, unfavorable publicity that followed publication of Ziegler's letter, the paper said.
Breakfast with Caterkillar IndyMedia UK May 14, 2004 Yesterday, we went to the Caterpillar offices near Solihull to present them with their well-deserved Homewrecker of the Year Award, and to ask the employees to take up the issue of arms sales to Israel with the company. Unfortunately, the employees were too shy to leave the building to talk to us. So this morning, we thought we'd join them for breakfast in the car park as they arrived for work...
Caterpillar faces an Intifada by Farhad Manjoo, salon.com May 12, 2004 In recent months, some critics of Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories have been pointing at another key player in the drama of Rachel Corrie's death -- the Caterpillar D9 bulldozer, the unfathomably powerful machine that is the workhorse of the Israeli military, used to demolish hundreds of homes in the Palestinian territories during the past three years. Considering the role of Caterpillar equipment in Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, some critics of Israel are asking, shouldn't we assign some responsibility for Rachel Corrie's death to the American company that manufactured the bulldozer that killed her?
Young woman's death launches downtown protest by Monica Landeros, WHOI ABC-19 April 23, 2004 Hundreds of members of the Stop CAT Coalition protested outside of Caterpillar's Peoria headquarters and shut down the downtown for hours. “It’s a moral and legal obligation of Caterpillar to say to Israel 'We will not sell our machinery to you if you're going to continue to use it to kill people,’” says Haten Abudayyeh from the Stop CAT Coalition. The protestors also hit the streets. The Peoria Police Department shut down several blocks of downtown on the busy Friday.
Protesters Target Caterpillar Over Bulldozer Sales to Israel by Jan Dennis, Associated Press April 23, 2004 More than 300 protesters renewed demands that Caterpillar stop selling bulldozers to the Israeli military, arguing the equipment is used to destroy Palestinian homes and killed an American activist defending property in the Gaza Strip. Protesters used a wooden replica of a bulldozer to re-enact the March 2003 death of 23-year-old Rachel Corrie during a demonstration outside the heavy equipment giant's headquarters in downtown Peoria, as Caterpillar workers watched from the windows of the seven-story complex. "The image (Caterpillar) should want to have out there is that they're building, not destroying," said Craig Corrie, father of the Olympia, Wash., college student. Caterpillar officials declined to meet with Corrie, his wife Cindy and leaders of the Stop CAT Coalition, which organized the protest.
Israel's use of Caterpillar equipment questioned by Mike Ramsey, Copley News Service April 15, 2004 News article from the Copley News Service reporting on successful introduction of a shareholder resolution at Caterpillar's 2004 annual shareholder meeting by the Sisters of Loretto and the Sisters of Mercy, in partnership with Jewish Voice for Peace. The measure earned support from about 4 percent of shareholders, which allows it to be reintroduced in 2005.
Caterpillar's sale of bulldozers to Israel to destroy Palestinian homes protested by Don Babwin, Associated Press April 14, 2004 Associated Press article about the introduction of a shareholder resolution at Caterpillar's 2004 annual shareholder meeting. Protesters, who said using bulldozers to destroy homes violates international law, said two groups of nuns who are Caterpillar stockholders introduced a resolution calling for the company's board of directors to evaluate whether selling them to Israel violates the company's code of conduct.
Catholic Nuns and Jewish peace activists file first ever US shareholder resolution on Israeli human rights violations Jewish Voice for Peace April 13, 2004 On April 14, the very day that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visits the White House to discuss Middle East peace, investors gathered at the annual Caterpillar, Inc. meeting in Chicago will be the first stockholders ever asked to investigate a US corporation’s role in the violation of human rights in the Palestinian occupied territories. They will vote on a shareholder resolution calling for Caterpillar to conduct an internal investigation to determine whether their sale of bulldozers to Israel violates the Cat code of conduct. The Code commits the corporation to “accept the responsibilities of global citizenship” and “take into account social priorities.”
Shareholders drive probe on Caterpillar's Israel sales by Emad Mekay, Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS) April 12, 2004 Activists are calling on fellow shareholders of U.S. heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar to press officials to probe the sale of company machinery to the Israeli Army, saying it violates an internal code of conduct and a U.S. ban on sales of products that target civilians.
Palestine solidarity activists target Caterpillar in Memphis by Omar Baddar, SUSTAIN-Memphis, News and Letters April 1, 2004 A delegation representing the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, SUSTAIN-Memphis, and the Muslim Society of Memphis visited Thompson Machinery (the largest distributor of Caterpillar equipment in the Mid-South) on March 19, 2004. Read their report.
Bulldozer protesters are released BBC March 17, 2004 Activists chained themselves to equipment at Caterpillar Perkins' site in Shrewsbury, UK. The factory was evacuated.
On the anniversary of Rachel Corrie's murder by Justin Podur, ZNet Daily Commentaries March 15, 2004 On March 16, 2004, people will hold vigils and ralles in different parts of the world to remember Rachel Corrie, a young American woman, part of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), who was murdered in the Gaza Strip by a bulldozer on the same day last year. The bulldozers that demolish houses for collective punishment are made by Caterpillar Corporation. In Toronto, the March 16 actions will include a stop at Caterpillar Corporation’s offices.
Beit Dukka – Where Protesters Are Peaceful And Soldiers Violent by Ed, Scoop March 12, 2004 About 150 Palestinians from Beit Dukka and the neighbouring villages, 10 internationals, and Arik, an Israeli Rabbi, sit down in front of the Caterpillar bulldozers, temporarily preventing them from carrying out their destructive work.
Jerusalem rabbi to face trial for protesting demolition of Palestinian homes Rabbis for Human Rights January 12, 2004 Rabbi Arik Ascherman, executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights, will be put on trial in Jerusalem on Wednesday, January 14, for standing in front of bulldozers on two separate occasions in an effort to block the demolition of Palestinian homes. Rabbi Ascherman is charged along with two codefendants with interfering with the police in the execution of their duties.
Bologna: Blitz dei disobbedienti: Caterpillar Murata "Stop the Wall" IndyMedia Italy November 8, 2003 In Bologna, about fifty activists of the group Ya Basta engaged in an act of civil disobedience, building a 3-meter-high concrete wall in front of the offices of Caterpillar, blocking the exit for the company's employees inside the building. The action comes as a protest for Caterpillar's involvement in the "wall of shame." The article inside is in Italian.
ISM Brighton and Birmingham Caterpillar trade fair action IndyMedia UK June 25, 2003 At 13.50pm this afternoon, 7 members of the International Solidarity Movement from Brighton and Birmingham staged a protest at the Caterpillar/Finning(UK) stand at the Hillhead 2003 "quarrying and recycling" trade fair, near Buxton, Derbyshire.
Blood on the Tracks by Lauren Steadman, Ethical Consumer, April-May 2003 April 30, 2003 Article with background about Caterpillar, calling on readers to refuse to buy Caterpillar products of any description and to pressure retailers not to stock Caterpillar-branded merchandise.
Until the bulldozers stop by Uri Ayalon, Haaretz April 17, 2003 Article in Haaretz about the work of the International Solidarity Movement trying to stop the destructive work of the home-wrecking bulldozers.
House parties to rebuild Palestinian homes by Delinda C. Hanley, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 2002, pages 88-90 December 1, 2002 It is fittingly ironic that this highly successful house party campaign now is raising money across the very nation that has helped finance Israel’s home demolition crusade. American-made Caterpillar bulldozers and heavy weapons have been used to level Palestinian homes, so it is only appropriate that American donations should help rebuild them.
Bay Area SUSTAIN disrupts Caterpillar executive meeting November 21, 2002 Activists from the Bay Area chapter of SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax-funded Aid to Israel Now) disrupted an executive meeting in the board room of the Caterpillar Corporation today to perform a citizens? arrest, charging the CAT executives with war crimes and violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention for selling bulldozers to the Israeli military which uses them to demolish Palestinian homes, olive groves, and villages.
Afflicted kibbutz insists on Palestinian’s fair treatment Scoop Media November 11, 2002 Yesterday morning, a delegation of Gush Sahlom were trudging together with Falami villagers through the devaastated fields, following three enormous yellow Caterpillar machines which were systematically uprooting tree after tree.
Cat executives "arrested" for war crimes September 17, 2002 At 9am Tuesday morning, September 17th, a media advisory went out stating that executives from the Caterpillar Corporation would be arrested at their office in DC and at other locations around the country. The media responded immediately, assuming it was another case of corporate corruption, but, when Fox News arrived, they quickly realized it was not an issue of corruption but of War Crimes!
International day of action against house demolitions in Palestine The Palestine Monitor August 23, 2002 The people of Nablus, Palestine, joined by international civilians and local Palestinian organizations will hold a candlelight march on Friday August 23rd 2002 and ask all people of the world to join them in a protest against the illegal Israeli policy of home demolitions. Support SUSTAIN's campaign against the Caterpillar Corporation. "Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers have become such an active part of the IDF's activities that the term "D-9" is as common to school kids here as "Apache" or "Cobra" helicopters, or the much more terrifying "F-16" fighter jets. The official IDF website documents their main purpose - home demolition…The dozers (or, in some cases, pneumatic breakers) then demolish the homes, proceeding from the second floor to the first. The whole operation takes from 30 minutes to three days, depending on its scope and intensity."
Activists target Caterpillar Corporation's role in Palestinian home demolitions August 1, 2002 A coalition of Bay Area organizations is holding a press conference and campaign kick-off Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at the intersection of Montgomery and Market Streets in San Francisco to launch a national movement calling on Caterpillar Corporation to halt sales to the Israeli military. The activists say that the Israeli Defense Forces use Caterpillar bulldozers to destroy the homes of Palestinian civilians.
Appeal home demolitions! Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights March 8, 2002 The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights sends a letter of complaint to Caterpillar. Caterpillar cannot afford to turn a blind eye. Its equipment is being used to commit human rights abuses against defenseless civilians. Moreover, it continues to provide Israel with the tools for destruction and profits from these violations. Caterpillar does not seem committed to "enabling positive and responsible growth around the world," as it claims.
Israel criticised over demolitions by Hilary Andersson in Jerusalem, BBC December 8, 1999 Amnesty International has called on Israel to stop bulldozing Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. According to a new report by the human rights organisation, about 5,000 people have been left homeless through demolitions since 1995.
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