Don't call it Divestment - call it the Nuremberg Trials

June 12, 2006
A coalition of Jewish and Christian institutional investors - Jewish Voice for Peace, Sisters of Loretto, Mercy Investment Program, Sisters of Mercy, Maryknoll Sisters and Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers - joined in a resolution calling for the separation of the roles of CEO and Chairperson at Caterpillar, Inc. They say that they hope to encourage "corporate accountability." But what they really want is to scare the hell out of the corporation's management, from which they want action - against Israel.

It's a story you're probably familiar with by now. Caterpillar is the prime target of a divestment campaign waged by institutional investors, including the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., the World Council of Churches, the Church of England and the Church of Scotland. They all want the company to stop selling heavy equipment to the Israeli military used in the occupied territories.

"Since 1967, Caterpillar bulldozers have illegally razed the homes of over 50,000 Palestinians," they say. Add to this fact the tragic story of Rachel Corrie, a young American who was crushed to death by a Caterpillar bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier - and you have a reason, a symbol and a cause. Whatever you think about their motives and about the strategy they chose to pursue - you have to admire their devotion. And one has to admit the strategy is also a useful tool. Those who say divestment will not bring peace might be right - but it will definitely work to convince Israel that the time has come to leave the occupied territories. That's why it is so annoying.

This coming Wednesday, thousands of delegates at the Presbyterian General Assembly in Alabama will discuss the "violation of human rights by its sale of weaponized bulldozers to the Israeli military." At the same time, in Chicago, Caterpillar shareholders will be meeting - and the parents of Rachel Corrie, Cindy and Craig, will be in Chicago, as proxy voters on behalf of Jewish and Christian institutional investors. A scene no executive would want in his shareholder meeting.

You can't say anything against these parents who lost their child and are looking to do something about it. Well - you can say she shouldn't have been there in the first place - but she was, and didn't deserve to die because of that. You can say that she knowingly risked her life - but this also doesn't mean one would want to see her dead. You can say the military has an obligation to investigate and prosecute. But you can also say the military has an obligation to protect the soldiers it sent to do the dirty job in the Gaza Strip.

All this had been said in the past, and will be said again. All of it is true. And don't expect the Corries to be more understanding about it. It's their daughter. It's their anger. It's their sorrow. Let them fight, and wish them well, but bear in mind: Their terrible loss doesn't give them any moral superiority in the discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian row.

And what does Caterpillar has to do with the Corries? Blaming the company that manufactured the bulldozer is like blaming the manufacturer of an airplane for the tragedy of 9/11. It's not a serious, well thought-out conclusion, but rather a propaganda tool with only one goal in mind: Scare other companies from investing, selling and working with Israel.

This is an unacceptable a goal in the eyes of almost all Israelis (and yes, I know some very small minority will disagree - as is always the case). It is also a show of ignorance and lack of sensitivity on the part of many of the good people which joined the movement for divestment - most of them, I want to believe, want a quick and just solution to the ongoing bloodshed (I do suspect that some of the leaders have other things in mind).

The intricacy of the Israeli-Palestinian arena, the troubled history, the legitimate claims both sides can make, the changing political climate in Israel and in the territories - all those didn't cross the minds of the divestment devotees. It's like a youth movement with all the idealism and energy and righteousness gone wild. You want to know how wild? Read this paragraph, taken from the Stop Caterpillar Web site:

"During World War II, the Nazi regime used an ordinary pesticide called Zyklon B to kill human beings in gas chambers. During the Nuremburg Trials, conducted after the war, corporate executives of chemical conglomerate IG Farben, the company that produced Zyklon B, claimed that they could not have known how their product was being used. The court disagreed and convicted 13 corporate executives of war crimes."

So here you have it. Olmert (or Sharon) as Hitler, Peretz (and earlier Mofaz) as Eichman, the Israeli military is the Nazi SS, Caterpillar is IG Farben.

Oh - and the divestment movement people? They are the self-appointed Nuremburg court. Only this time it's issuing a verdict without dealing with actual facts or understanding the possible consequences.


Previous blogs

Weekend notes: Iran, polls, Olmert, Peretz, English

The AIPAC case goes wild

Washington notes: Iran, Mexico fence and Al Gore

It's not the fence - it's you