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Action Alert Bulldozers from the Caterpillar Corporation are being used by Israel to demolish Palestinian houses, uproot olive trees, and build the “security” wall isolating Palestinians and separating them from their farmland. Join the Jewish Voice for Peace and its partner organizations – the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax Aid to Israel Now), and the Center for Economic and Social Rights in calling for a halt of sales of Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel. Action: 1. Write letters to Caterpillar Corporation demanding that they halt sales of bulldozers to be used in the occupied Palestinian territories. 2. Contact your Members of Congress and demand that they request an advisory report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) investigating possible violations by Israel of the Arms Export Control Act through its use of Caterpillar bulldozers in the occupied Palestinian territories. Note: The GAO "is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress. GAO exists to support the Congress in meeting its Constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the American people." Background: Since 1967, Israel has used Caterpillar bulldozers to demolish nearly 9,000 Palestinian homes, leaving more than 50,000 people homeless. Since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000, Israel has razed the homes of over 12,737 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to the Office of the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs, between October 10 and 20, 2003 alone the Israeli army demolished 130 Palestinian homes in the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, rendering 1,200 people homeless. In the past two years the Israeli army deployed Caterpillar bulldozers to uproot 200,000 Palestinian olive trees. In April 2002 Caterpillar D9s demolished an entire neighborhood in the Jenin refugee camp. Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist, was murdered by a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer on March 16, 2003 as she nonviolently tried to prevent it from destroying a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip. Caterpillar profits from Israel's construction of a 25 foot high wall and fence that will confiscate as much as 40 percent of the West Bank. The wall separates Palestinians from their farmlands and cuts some villages off from the rest of the West Bank, and will render as many as 100,000 people completely isolated. Caterpillar sales and US law: The Caterpillar Corporation claims that, "With regard to Israel, sales between Caterpillar and the U.S. government are openly conducted through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales Program." The U.S. government buys Caterpillar bulldozers and sends them to Israel as part of our country's annual foreign military assistance package. Such sales are governed by the U.S. Arms Export Control Act (Public Law 90-829), which limits the use of U.S. military aid to "internal security" and "legitimate self-defense" and prohibits its use against civilians. There is good reason to believe that these sales violate US law. Talking Points: 1) The Caterpillar Corporation has been in the business of war profiteering, profiting from the violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people and from the escalating cycle of violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians. 2) The U.S. government's purchase of Caterpillar bulldozers on behalf of Israel's military could constitute a violation of U.S. law. Congress must take the lead in calling for an investigation and hold the executive branch accountable to the laws it passes restricting the use of U.S. military aid. 3) Calling for an investigation of Caterpillar bulldozers being used in Israel is not anti-Israel. On the contrary, such transparency will ultimately strengthen U.S.-Israel ties by encouraging the two countries to work together to build a sustainable and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More Information: Get more information on the Caterpillar campaign at: www.CATdestroysHomes.org |
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