We are holding Caterpillar accountable

[IndianaGreen]

We are holding Caterpillar accountable

April 23, 2010

We, Macalester Peace and Justice Committee/Students for a Democratic Society, block Caterpillar's driveway because Caterpillar must be held responsible for the things from which they profit.

Caterpillar bulldozers are used to clear-cut forests and demolish natural habitats, clear out slums that are the homes of millions in brutal "cleaning" operations, and, perhaps most visibly, the Caterpillar bulldozer is the weapon of choice in Israel's systematic assault on the Palestinian people.

Caterpillar executives cannot be divorced from responsibility for the consequences of their profit. Caterpillar executives may not be the ones driving the bulldozers, but they gain directly from the injustice and oppression that their products propagate across the globe.

Specially armored Caterpillar bulldozers are Israel's tools for the relentless, slow-motion destruction of Palestinian lives, homes and livelihoods. Israel uses Caterpillar to demolish Palestinian homes, rip up Palestinian olive groves and build new settler homes with manicured lawns and central air.

Since 1967, Israel has demolished 24,145 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories; in the same time period, Israel has built 214 settlements and erected a separation wall that cuts deep into the West Bank. Time after time, settlements "spring up" right where they are most disruptive to local economies, while Israel further shatters trade routes and freedom of movement with apartheid walls, Israeli-only roads and pervasive checkpoints.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/04/23/holding-caterpillar-accountable