Presbyterian Divestment:

GA 218: Overture 11-23
On Divestment from Caterpillar and Motorola

A Fact Sheet

WHY WE SUPPORT THESE SELECTIVE DIVESTMENTS?

We have been to Israel-Palestine and have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears that the Israeli military occupation is:

· Illegally confiscating and destroying the property and homes of the Palestinian people, laying waste to their culture and livelihood;

· Therefore making a two-state solution impossible;

· Thus endangering the long-term security of Israel;

· And prolonging terrorism and instability in the Middle East.

In the rationale for our overture, we have provided commissioners with an overview of the following:

1. The current status of corporate engagement

2. Divestment actions taken by GA in 2004 & 2006

3. Previous GA resolutions on Israel and Palestine

4. MRTI guidelines and divestment criteria

5. An outline of various elements of the Israeli “matrix of control” that lead to gross violations of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories

6. A description of Caterpillar and Motorola’s complicity in the occupation

7. A statement of PC(USA) relations with the Jewish Community

8. A reminder of the South African precedent for divestment

9. And a quotation from Peacemaking: A Believer’s Calling

FACTS ABOUT CATERPILLAR

Equipment supplied by Caterpillar plays a central role in Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Driven by Israeli soldiers, armored “Cat” bulldozers are:

· Destroying Palestinian homes, olive groves, fruit orchards, and roads. actions deemed to be “war crimes” by the Fourth Geneva Convention;

· Building a Separation Barrier on Palestinian land in violation of internationally recognized boundaries established in 1967;

· Building by-pass roads and highways for Israelis only;

· Constructing roadblocks that prevent Palestinian access to their fields, schools, and hospitals;

· Causing deaths such as that of American peace activist and Presbyterian Rachael Corrie in 2003;

· Sold to Israel by the Defense Department as a part of its Foreign Military Sales program, and then paid for by the U.S. foreign aid grant of $3 billion per year.

· Often militarized with bullet-proof glass, machine guns, grenade launchers, and other deadly weapons.

Caterpillar also has:

· Partnered with an Israeli company to build unmanned bulldozers to do demolitions without endangering a driver.

· Announced on June 10, 2008 got a $397.1 contract from the U.S. Army for 2 types of bulldozers with armor kits.

Despite these facts Caterpillar claims they are not responsible when their equipment is used to violate human rights. CEO Jim Owens has insisted that just as the auto industry has not control over car-bombings, Caterpillar has no control over how its bulldozers are use.

FACTS ABOUT MOTORLA

Motorola is the “eyes and ears” of the Occupation, providing the Israeli military with:

· Radar systems for the illegal settlements in the West Bank and the Separation Wall;

· An advanced “Mountain Rose” cell phone communications system to enhance intelligence in the occupied Palestinian Territories;

· An encrypted wireless communications system using vehicle-mounted antenna for use in remote areas;

· A fuse for the MK-80 series of high-explosive bombs, one of which Israel dropped on an apartment building in Qana, Lebanon during its 2006 invasion, killing at lease 28 civilians.

Given these facts, Motorola “made clear that its human rights policies would not be applied to their business relationships with foreign governments.”

MRTI Report to the General Assembly Council, April 2008

These indisputable facts, and the failure of Caterpillar and Motorola to acknowledge their roles in prolonging the conflict despite extensive verbal and written exchanges with church representatives, have led us to press for a vote to end investment by the Presbyterian Church in these two companies.