The BDSHoles and Israel haters have for years pushed for the boycott of Caterpillar.
For instance, Ali Abuminuation’s Electronic Intifada had this to say in 2005:
http://electronicintifada.net/content/caterpillar-making-killing-palestine/5522
Frequently in the global economy, it seems that corporations are able to get away with activities which would see an individual locked up in the Hague for decades.
Take the case of Caterpillar. Without selling a single bomb, gun or F16 fighter, Caterpillar has been supplying the Israeli military with its “key weapon”, in the words one Israeli commander, in its illegal and brutal occupation of Palestine. In the words of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Caterpillar’s D-9 bulldozers have been responsible for destroying “agricultural farms, greenhouses, ancient olive groves.. numerous Palestinian homes and sometimes human lives”.
The toll of human lives destroyed with these machines is truly horrifying. During the last 4 years the Israeli army has flattened over 4,000 homes – rendering tens of thousand homeless, traumatised and impoverished. Israel claims that these demolitions are punitive actions against suspected terrorists. While such punishment is anyway illegal under international humanitarian law, a recent report by Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem found that in half of all cases there was nothing linking the houses to terrorism.
Palestinians are currently suffering from poverty levels comparable with some of the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa – in the words of the United Nations it bears the “effects of a terrible natural disaster”, though one created by people and politics. A key source of this poverty is the destruction of agricultural land, the only possible source of livelihood open to many Palestinians. Caterpillar bulldozers have been used to rip up extensive areas of cultivated land, destroying thousands of olive and citrus trees. The destruction of wells, storage tanks and water pumps has several limited access to drinking water.
And the list goes on and on.
I say this as an introduction to..drum roll please…Palestinian Tractor!
Palestinian Tractor is a truly Palestinian enterprise and is set to play a leading role in the country’s economic and industrial development, as well as training and development to its Palestinian staff.
Palestinian Tractor and Equipment Co. Ltd. was established in 1995 as a sister company to Jordan Tractor and Equipment Co. and as an affiliate Company to M.E. JALLAD the dealer of Caterpillar Inc. in Lebanon and Syria since 1929. It is a part of Caterpillar dealers network established all over the world.
As a Caterpillar dealer, PT&E are able to bring to the country not only the finest quality products but also the expertise and the know how of a world leader in the productive use and management of machines that serve various segments of the market.
These guys have been around since 1995, well before the calls to boycott Caterpillar.
It turns out that the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar” turned 45 this week. The Israel haters would prefer to have Very Hungry Palestinians to prosperous ones if it means making life harder for Israel.
(hat tip: Ryan)
