For the last five years, religious and human rights organizations and socially responsible investors from around the world have targeted Caterpillar over its sales of equipment to the Israel Defense Forces. For the last five years,

Caterpillar has taken what Human Rights Watch calls a “head in the sand” approach to these concerns, refusing to take any action or responsibility for the destruction and violations of human rights caused by these military sales.

In a letter from Caterpillar’s Director of Corporate Public Affairs to the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church on April 7th, 2008, Caterpillar acknowledged for the first time, the company’s responsibility "to encourage the constructive use of its products." The corporation further declared that it does not "condone the illegal or immoral use of any Caterpillar equipment."

The use of Caterpillar equipment to violate Palestinian human rights has been extensively documented in human rights reports (by Human Rights Watch, War on Want, Amnesty International and others) and has been conveyed to Caterpillar in different ways over the years:
5 annual shareholder resolutions, a letter from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a lawsuit on behalf of the family of activist Rachel Corrie and four Palestinian families whose homes were demolished By Caterpillar bulldozers, and countless street protests around the world. This is a very critical time for the campaign, as Caterpillar prepares
to meet with representative of The Unite Methodist Church and the
Presbyterian Church USA over its sales of military equipment to the IDF.

On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, Caterpillar shareholders will meet again in Chicago. Join our action outside the shareholders meeting that day to oppose Caterpillar's sale of bulldozers to Israel. Let's send the Board of Directors and CAT dealerships a strong message that complicity in human rights abuses will not be tolerated.
For more information or to endorse contact Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine:
Email: caap_mail (at) yahoo.com