[Peace-discuss] Caterpillar campaign and Palestinian homes

[Alfred Kagan]

Thanks Ricky. I think we ought to endorse this campaign and work with 
it.  Maybe we could do something on Sept. 14th,the national day of 
action? Perhaps we could put this on one of our agendas.


At 3:58 PM -0400 7/24/02, Ricky Baldwin wrote:
>Friends,
>If you recall, Dr. Rob Lipton mentioned this connection to 
>Caterpillar when he was here (thanks again to Sandra!), as well as 
>the fact that there is a Caterpillar plant near here.  He suggested 
>working with the labor movement and Caterpillar workers to combine 
>their complaints against greedy managemment with their irresponsible 
>involvement in the Occupied Territories (presumably with similar 
>motivations) - there is certainly no love lost there. -RB
>
>fwd--------------------------------
>
>STOP CATERPILLAR'S DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINIAN LIVES!
>
>
>Since the beginning of the present Palestinian uprising, or 
>intifada, in September of 2000, the Israeli military has destroyed 
>more than 2650 Palestinian homes, offices, buildings and other 
>civilian structures including hundreds of thousands of fruit and 
>olive trees, the main livelihood for many Palestinians. The US 
>industrial machinery giant, Caterpillar, is the main supplier of the 
>specially designed bulldozers which the Israeli military uses to 
>carry out this destruction. Such acts are a form of collective 
>punishment and, therefore, considered a war crime under the Geneva 
>Conventions and by the UN. Both Amnesty International and Human 
>Rights Watch have condemned recent home demolitions as war crimes.
>
>We have called upon the Caterpillar Corporation to immediately halt 
>all sales of equipment to the Israeli military. However, to date, 
>they have not responded. Therefore we have decided to launch a 
>national campaign to expose Caterpillar's complicity in Israel's war 
>crimes and stop its sales to the Israeli military. We hope that you 
>will join us in this campaign.
>
>Little so vividly captures the brutality of the occupation like the 
>bulldozing of homes by the Israeli military with Caterpillar 
>equipment.  We believe that focusing this campaign against a US 
>brand name company that is exporting machines used directly in 
>attacks on civilians is likely to have a powerful effect on public 
>opinion. Caterpillar's business with the Israeli military is only a 
>small part of their world-wide business, and ending the supply of 
>these "Killer Bulldozers" will not bankrupt them nor will it result 
>in the loss of jobs for workers in the US.
>For these reasons we believe, with your support, this is a winnable campaign.
>
>
>Campaign Action Timeline
>
>
>Month of July - Month will be spent publicizing the campaign, 
>getting more groups and individuals to endorse and get actively 
>involved, doing research on the company (sales, investors, partners, 
>locations, etc.), putting together an organizing packet 
>(informational flyer/fact sheet, petition, etc.), creating props, 
>puppets and banners, and organizing press conference(s) at the end 
>of the month.
>
>Wednesday, August 7: National and international press conferences to 
>officially launch campaign. Main press conference will be at the 
>National Press Building in Washington, DC.
>
>Month of August: Escalate campaign, particularly as colleges and 
>universities start up, with leafleting, postering, banner drops, and 
>street theater outside of locations connected to Caterpillar in some 
>way (plants, dealerships, offices, transport facilities).
>
>September 14: National and international day of action against 
>Caterpillar. The main target on the East Coast will be the 
>Caterpillar plant in York, Pennsylvania.
>
>September 25 - September 29: Organize national action targeting 
>Caterpillar during the protests around the International Monetary 
>Fund/World Bank fall meetings in Washington, DC.
>
>What can you do?
>We ask that you be as involved in the campaign as possible. We do 
>not want to "own" the campaign or its future development. Any group 
>which shares the goals and agrees to the general framework of the 
>campaign is invited to join us. We are asking groups and, where 
>appropriate, individuals to:
>
>
>Endorse the campaign;
>Ask people to write, fax, email, call and, if possible, even visit a 
>Caterpillar office, plant, dealership with the demands;
>Publicize the campaign in your publications, mailings, listservs, 
>websites, and at any public meetings;
>Write letters to and put ads and/or public service announcements 
>(PSAs) in your local paper, radio station, and public access TV 
>stations about the campaign;
>Organize regular leafleting, preferably with a banner and some 
>street theater, at a Caterpillar related site and/or at any public 
>area with a lot of traffic;
>Hold a press conference on August 7th with other interested groups 
>to announce the launching of the campaign;
>Together with other groups, organize some type of action (picket, 
>rally, civil disobedience/direct action) for the September 14 day of 
>action. Let us know the details of your action so we can help 
>publicize it.
>Organize people to come to Washington, DC on September 29 for a 
>national action against Caterpillar and to mark the second 
>anniversary of the intifada.To endorse and/or if you have any 
>questions or comments, you can either send a message to 
>StopCAT at mutualaid.org or call us at 866 860 9311. We appreciate your 
>support and look forward to working with you in the future.
>
>Stop US Tax-funded Aid to Israel Now (SUSTAIN)
>Free Palestine Alliance
>Students for Justice in Palestine, Berkeley
>
>
>
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-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
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