Responsible Economic Engagement
Compiled by The
Palestine-Israel Action Group of Ann Arbor Friends Meeting 3/12/06
Groups and individuals may wish to contact
companies whose products or services are used in violence against Israelis
or Palestinians, urging such companies to change their practices. Investors
may also choose to avoid support for such firms, and instead to seek
enterprises that help the cause of a just and lasting peace. Shareholders
may, in addition, wish to join in stockholder resolutions that ask companies
to refrain from enabling violence and repression in Israel-Palestine. Other
positive steps include avoiding support for State of Israel bonds,
boycotting products made in West Bank settlement, and working to help
strengthen the Palestinian economy.
Companies
that manufacture and/or sell military equipment to Israel
1.
Boeing: Maker of AH 64 Apache
helicopters that kill Palestinian civilians.
2. General Electric:
Maker of T700-GE-701 engines for Apache
helicopters.
Apache helicopters are regularly used by the Israeli military in carrying
out extra-judicial killings. Such assassinations violate international law
and have led to the deaths of countless Palestinian civilians who happen to
be in the vicinity of the person targeted by the Israeli attack.
3. Caterpillar:
Maker of D9 Bulldozers specially fitted for huge
blades that demolish Palestinian homes, some with residents still inside.
They raze entire neighborhoods, as well as olive groves and orchards that
are essential to Palestinian farmers’ livelihoods.
4.
Lockheed Martin Corp: Maker of F-15
and F-16 Fighter Jets.
5. Hewlett Packard:
Research & Development center in Israel. HP owns
Computations & Measurements Ltd, and owns part of Technion Institute,
which helps develop Israeli high tech weaponry.
6. ITT Industries
is a diversified manufacturer that supplies the Israeli military with
communications, electronic, and night vision equipment used by its forces in
the Occupied Territories.
7. Motorola
recently won a contract to develop wireless
encrypted communications for the Israeli military in the Occupied
Territories. Additionally, it is a majority investor in one of Israel's four
cell phone companies. This investment is controversial because cell phone
companies, according to the Oslo Agreement of 1995, must be licensed by the
Palestinian Authority in order to operate in the West Bank and Gaza.
However, powerful facilities in the settlements have a range that covers all
of the Occupied Territories, so this licensing has not occurred.
8. United Technologies
is a large military contractor whose subsidiary
has provided helicopters to the Israeli military. They have been used in
attacks in the Occupied Territories, purportedly against suspected
Palestinian terrorists, but also causing civilian deaths and suffering.
9. Ford
invests in developing diagnostic systems at Ben-Gurion University for
two-stroke engines used on Israeli military vehicles.
10.
Gulfstream Aerospace Industries, a
General Dynamics subsidiary,
manufactures aircraft for the Israeli Air Force.
11. EXXON Mobil supplies
JP-8 aviation jet fuel.
12.
Northrop Grumman
makes radar and weapons systems.
13.
Oshkosh Truck Corporation
makes heavy expanded-mobility tactical trucks.
14. Raytheon
is a major manufacturer of Israeli
weapons.
15.
PGSUS-LLC, a joint venture of
Lockheed
Martin/Rafael, manufactures attack
missiles.
State of Israel Bonds
Israel pays for its military
armaments and for the Occupation with funds raised from the sale of its
bonds as well as from the $10 million a day supplied by the US government.
Much of this funding goes to US manufacturers, who in fact supply the bulk
of Israeli arms.
Investors find Israeli government bonds attractive
because the US government guarantees them through its Agency for
International Development (USAID). This situation is unique because the US
guarantees no other foreign government’s public debt. Some experts believe
the State of Israel is unlikely ever to redeem these bonds, making them in
effect a gift from US taxpayers.
1.
US state governments and union pension funds often carry a sizeable
portfolio of State of Israel Bonds. Individuals may contact their state
government or union about this matter.
2. Fidelity Mutual Funds. Fidelity
includes State of Israel bonds in several of its bond funds.
State of Israel bonds are found in the following Fidelity mutual
funds (percentages in parentheses show the portion of each fund allocated
to these Israeli bonds):
A total of $327 million in State of Israel Bonds is held in these seven
Fidelity mutual funds. This data is taken from Fidelity reports ranging from
mid-2004 through January 2005. It is available, with periodic updates, on
the Fidelity Investments website.
Three possible avenues of action are:
1. Contact the company, urging it to divest from State of Israel bonds.
2. Divest from any Fidelity fund that contains State of Israel bonds, informing
the company of the reason for one’s action.
3. Stay invested in one or more of these funds in order to join
a shareholder resolution urging Fidelity to divest from these bonds
Products made in Israeli West Bank Settlements
Individuals may wish to avoid
purchases that support the economic viability of these unlawful enclaves.
The settlements are key obstacles to peace, commandeering land and water,
destroying olive groves, impeding Palestinians’ freedom of movement with
settlement-related roadblocks and a network of Israeli-only roads that
connect West Bank settlements with Israel. Speak to the store manager.
Ahava beauty products,
which are sold in
stores around the world, are produced in Mitzpeh Shalem, an i illegal West
Bank settlement.
Beigel and Beigel
Food produced on occupied
Palestinian land.
Gamla, Golan, and
Yarden wines.
Produced on illegally occupied Syrian territory.
Other Israeli wines.
In 2005, the Israeli Ministry of
Industry and Commerce announced they were aiming to double the exports of
Israeli wines over the next five years. Many of these are produced in
illegal settlements. All have “Israel” on the label. For a list of these
wines see
http://cjpp.org/vinsIsraelSAQ.pdf
Other settlement products.
Updated lists of settlement products are available through the Israeli peace
organization Gush Shalom and
Big Campaign
Other Positive
Actions
Support the
Palestinian economy:
1. Buy fair
trade Palestinian olive oil. Olive oil is a vital source of income for many
Palestinian farmers. 65% of Palestinian families derive vital sustenance
and/or income from agriculture. In many areas Israeli curfews and movement
restrictions, as well as threats of severe violence from Israeli settlers,
have resulted in olive trees going unharvested. Many olive trees have been
destroyed by the Separation Wall and settlement building. Support
Palestinian farmers by purchasing excellent olive oil from
Zaytoun or the
Michigan Peace Team.
2. Other
Palestinian goods such as embroidery, olive wood objects, calendars,
traditional items, and much more can be purchased from
Paltime
3.
Specialty grocery stores carry tinned pickles, tahini, olive oil, etc. from
the West Bank, sold under Ziyad and other labels. Spread the word about
these local outlets.
Support Israeli,
Palestinian, and international human rights organizations