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>>read coverage on the Milford Daily News
March 16th 2005 On the 2nd anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death B2P and BootCAT Protest at Caterpillar's offices in Milford MA! click on images to enlarge
On the second anniversary of the killing of Rachel Corrie by an Israeli soldier with a CATERILLAR BULLDOZER, the BOOTCAT CAMPAIGN and B2P held a protest at Caterpillar's Milford MA, offices.
A group of about 65 human rights activists, including Jeff Halper, director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD, www.icahd.org), gathered to protest the company's sale of bulldozers to the Israeli military despite concerns that the Israeli military is using the equipment in violation of International and American law to destroy Palestinian homes, uproot orchards, and expand Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.
The protest, which went peacefully, included a vigil to commemorate the death of Rachel Corrie, with readings from her last e-mails to her family. Jeff Halper spoke on the magnitude of the destruction, of both Palestinian infrastructure and livelihood, caused by the use of Caterpillar bulldozers in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza. It was concluded with the delivery of a letter to the Milton CAT administration asking them to put pressure on Caterpillar Corporation to suspend its sales to Israel.
On March 16th, 2003, Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, WA, was killed by the Israeli military with a Caterpillar bulldozer while trying to protect the home of a Palestinian Pharmacist and his family from illegal demolition. She was a member of the International Solidarity Movement which opposes such demolitions and supports the application of International law as a means of creating peace. 60 members of congress have co-sponsored a resolution (hr 111) which calls for an investigation into the killing of Rachel.
The Geneva Conventions, numerous UN resolutions and the expressed opinion of the International Court of Justice make clear that house demolition, settlement expansion, land confiscation and destruction, but particularly construction of the so-called "separation barrier" on Palestinian land, are illegal. Yet Caterpillar designs bulldozers specifically for these purposes.
According to ICAHD, Israel has demolished at least 12,000 Palestinian homes since it occupied the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. On several occasions people have been in the homes and were killed.
The Middle East director of Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) said "Caterpillar betrays its stated values when it sells bulldozers to Israel knowing that they are being used to illegally destroy Palestinian homes. Until Israel stops these practices, Caterpillar's continued sales will make the company complicit in human rights abuses."
Caterpillar's own Code of Conduct states: 'As a company and as individuals we hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior." Allowing the use of its equipment to demolish the homes of innocent families as collective punishment falls far short any standards of ethical behavior. Continuing to do so following the killing of Rachel Corrie and other civilians is criminal.
BootCat and Jewish Voice for Peace the largest grassroots Jewish peace group in the United States, are two of the organizations participating in a national campaign to stop bulldozer sales to the Israeli army.
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Sponsoring organizations were:BootCat (Chapter of the Boston Committee for Palestinian Rights), Boston to Palestine (support-group for the International Solidarity Movement), Jewish Women for Justice in Israel/Palestine, United for Justice and Peace Israel/ Palestine Task Force.
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Photos by Justin McIntosh
