www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, May 2004Protest Caterpillar sales to IsraelChicago--About 35 activists, including people from Not In My Name, Palestinian-Americans, students and others demonstrated outside the LaSalle Bank here. The occasion was the annual Caterpillar shareholders meeting. Caterpillar supplies special armored bulldozers, science-fictional creations that are like huge metal buildings on wheels that are used to raze Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. There are conservative estimates that at least 10,000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed, as the Israeli military collectively punishes the population of the occupied territories. There was an outcry when a young American active in the International Solidarity Movement, Rachel Corrie, was killed a year ago by one of these Caterpillar creations. One participant in the demonstration said, "I was holding up a sign that said ‘Remember Rachel Corrie’ and was surprised by how many people knew who she was. A lot of people walking by said that we were doing the right thing. There was a lot of support, considering that not enough people know about this issue." Another activist noted that there were "lots of honks and flashed peace signs and raised fists." A picket line throughout the lunch hour and into the afternoon supported a delegation that went into the shareholders’ meeting and addressed those in attendance. Following their presentations, 4% of the shareholders voted in support of a resolution to cease providing these vehicles to the Israeli military. This action was building toward a larger rally in Peoria on April 23. --Participants |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
