Does the divestment campaign make you uncomfortable? It used to make me uncomfortable. And then Gaza ended all my misgivings. Not to mention the fact that most divestment campaigns are aimed specifically at the Occupation, which I've visited and which several South Africans have said is worse than apartheid. Jewish Voice for Peace and the activists inside the Protestant churches have supported divestment for that targeted reason. Long after Rachel Corrie was killed, Caterpillar still does business with Israel, and as someone wrote recently, the bulldozer ought to be on the Israeli flag.
Another reason to support divestment: 20 Israeli groups with diverse memberships have called for the Norwegian government's pension funds to divest from companies that serve the occupation. The list is below the excerpt:
We, Israeli organizations, comprised of Jewish and Palestinian women
and men and dedicated to building a just peace and to promoting human
rights and equal civil rights in Israel/Palestine,
Call upon the Norwegian people to join us in our efforts and to stop
investing in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
It has come to our attention that the Norwegian governmental Pension Fund, as of December 31st 2008, is heavily invested in corporations whose activities continuously support and maintain the Israeli occupation, in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. These companies, both Israeli and international, build illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory or provide vital services to them; provide specifically designed equipment for the surveillance and repression of Palestinian population through restrictions of movement and collective punishments; or take part in the illegal exploitation of Palestinian nonrenewable natural resources for the needs of the Israeli market.
The Coalition of Women for Peace http://www.coalitionofwomen.org
Al- Tufula Center http://www.altufula.org
Bat Tzafon for Peace and Equality
Children of Abraham http://groups.google.com/group/bnei-avraham?hl=en
Hacampus Lo Shotek
Hithabrut – Tarabut http://www.tarabut.info
Humans without Borders – Assisting Medical Accessibility http://humanitywithoutborders.ning.com
Israel Social TV http://www.tv.social.org.il
Kayan – Feminist Organization http://www.kayan.org.il
MachsomWatch – Women against the Occupation and for Human Rights http://www.machsomwatch.org
Mossawa Center, the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel http://www.mossawacenter.org
New Profile http://www.newprofile.org
Ta’ayush, Jewish Arab Partnership
The Alternative Information Center http://www.alternativenews.org
The Israeli Committee for Residency Rights (ICRR)
The Israeli Committee against House Demolitions http://www.icahd.org
Women against Violence http://www.wavo.org
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Israel Section
Yesh Gvul http://www.yeshgvul.org
Zochrot http://www.nakbainhebrew.orgMay 14, 2009
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