05204
April 14, 2005

150 rally outside Caterpillar meeting

Protest sparked by Israel’s bulldozing of Palestinian homes

by Toya Richards Hill

CHICAGO — Wednesday was a blustery day in the Windy City, but that didn’t stop a diverse group of about 150 protesters from taking to the streets during the annual meeting of the bulldozer-maker, Caterpillar, Inc.

     Most prominent among the group were representatives of a coalition —

including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — urging the Peoria, IL-based heavy equipment manufacturer to investigate the use of its bulldozers by the Israeli government to demolish Palestinian homes. 

    The Israeli Defence Forces use Caterpillar bulldozers for a number of tasks, including razing 

About 150 protesters rallied during Caterpillar's annual stockholders meeting. Photos by Toya Richards Hill

the homes of Palestinians for security and non-security reasons. Israel obtains the machines through the U.S. government, which actually buys them from Caterpillar. Caterpillar claims that it can’t control its customers and has no legal authority to tell them what to do with the equipment.

     The April 13 noon-time rally outside the Northern Trust Building in downtown Chicago featured bullhorns, posters and a large protest banner. The group lodged a more formal objection to the company’s practices through a shareholder proposal put to a vote during the annual meeting.

     The proposal questions whether the sale of Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel constitutes a violation of Caterpillar’s corporate-responsibility policy. It was defeated, gaining the support of only 3 percent of the voters. That unofficial tally suggests that proponents of the measure fell short of the 4 percent needed to re-introduce the proposal next year.

     Still, the protesters’ message was clear.

     “We ask that Caterpillar not profit from destruction,” said Sara Norman, a board member of Jewish Voice for Peace, addressing Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Owens and others at the meeting.

     She said the measure was about “responsible corporate decision-making.”

     Owens said Caterpillar has been instrumental in “building the world’s infrastructure,” and assured shareholders that the company is “committed to being good stewards of your funds.”

     In 2004, Caterpillar reported revenues of $30.25 billion, up 33 percent from

the previous year. The Presbyterian Foundation and Board of Pensions of PC(U.S.A.) hold stock in Caterpillar, which could be among the companies the PC(USA) chooses for “phased selective divestment” because of its involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

     Jewish Voice for Peace, a grassroots U.S. peace and human rights organization, was the primary filer of the resolution voted down during Wednesday’s meeting. The other organizations supporting the measure include the Mercy Investment Program, the Sisters of Loretto, and the PC(USA).

     “I have been concerned about the use of Caterpillar equipment in the home demolitions, as well as more recently in the construction of the Israeli (security) wall, in places that intrude on Palestinian land in the occupied territory,” he said.

     “The gospel that I understand … calls for justice and righteousness and peace, and a non-violence approach to life,” said Jones, pastor emeritus of the Presbyterian Church of Western Springs in the Chicago Presbytery. He said he was on hand “to be a witness; to stand with others.”

     Jones said he carried with him a photograph of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old human rights worker who was crushed and killed in the Gaza Strip in March 2003 by a bulldozer made by Caterpillar. Corrie was standing in front of the machine in an effort to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home. She was represented at the Caterpillar annual meeting by her maternal aunt, Cheryl Brodersen, who spoke during a question-and-answer session.

     Not everyone in the crowd was in favor of the resolution.

     “It’s just all anti-Semitism,” said Roz Rothstein, national director of StandWithUs, a Los Angeles-based pro-Israel advocacy organization. “It’s a way to demonize Israel.”

     Rothstein was handing out flyers touting the “big ideas” coming out of Israel, in fields such as biomedicine and technology, and promoting investment in the nation.