While much of the world is celebrating the holiday season, Sojourners and Jewish Voice for Peace ask you to take a moment to respond to injustice in the holy land.
In Bethlehem, and throughout the West Bank and Gaza, Israel has used Caterpillar bulldozers to raze the homes of nearly 13,000 Palestinians. The U.S. government buys Caterpillar bulldozers and sends them to Israel as part of its annual foreign military assistance package. These sales are governed by laws which limit the use of such aid to "internal security" and "legitimate self-defense" and prohibit its use against civilians. There is reason to believe that Israel's use of Caterpillar bulldozers to demolish homes violates these laws, going beyond legitimate self-defense by collectively punishing civilians for the actions of individual terrorists.
* In April 2002, Caterpillar equipment demolished an entire neighborhood in the Jenin refugee camp.
* In March 2003, American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a Caterpillar bulldozer as she nonviolently tried to prevent it from destroying a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip.
* Caterpillar equipment has also been used to destroy Palestinian property in the path of a separation wall that will confiscate as much as 40% of the West Bank, separating Palestinians from their farmlands and isolating whole villages.
In this busy time of year, we urge you to take a moment to contact your congressperson and Senators, and speak out against this injustice.
Take action by clicking here.
