BDS | The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

“We build bridges, not walls”

Posted on February 1, 2013

As you watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, one commercial in particular should catch your attention. SodaStream, the world’s largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of home carbonation systems, is set to have a 30 second commercial during the 4th quarter of the game. SodaStream is a household kitchen gadget that carbonates water into seltzer and sodas, and is produced in Ma’aleh Adumim, the largest illegal Israeli settlement on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank. Join all of us in the BDS movement, Jewish Voice for Peace, the US Campaign Against the Israeli Occupation, Code Pink, an amazing coalition of religious leaders, and many others in boycott!

We ask you to join our boycott of SodaStream because it is produced in an illegal Israeli settlement (opposed by U.S. Government policy) and because the products sold support the settlement industry, encouraging Israel to continue the illegal military occupation of Palestinian lands.

Today, illegal settlements, like Ma’aleh Adumim, are protected by walls that take away the right of Palestinians to move freely and deny them access to their jobs and farmland. As a result of this oppression and its economic impact, many Palestinians (including children as young as 12) must work in the settlements in order to support their families.

In response to criticism, SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum defended his company:

“We don’t strengthen or support the occupation… What we’re doing is taking a facility in the occupied territory and giving Palestinians a career and economic benefits. I’ve got to laugh when they think we’re on the wrong side of this. We’re part of the solution. We build bridges, not walls.”

However, the “bridge” is not easy to cross. In order to work in a settlement, a Palestinian must obtain a work permit from the Israeli Civil Administration and pass through multiple checkpoints every day to travel between work and home. As explained by www.whoprofits.org:

“This permit can be annulled at any time, especially when workers demand their rights or try to unionize, or if they (or one of their family members) engage in any kind of political activity. This situation exposes Palestinian workers to extortion by the Israeli internal security service.”

The very real fear of losing a work permit prevents many Palestinians from even taking the steps to demand legal employment rights.

What can you do? One way to tell Israel that occupation is not tolerable is to join the BDS movement. Support the call of Palestinian civil society to boycott this company. Sign this petition, or follow this link to see ways you can protest SodaStream this weekend as they ramp up their media presence in the United States via the Super Bowl. CBS banned SodaStream’s original commercial because it directly assaults two big American advertisers, Coke and Pepsi. Tell SodaStream that you do not support occupation! SodaStream says: “If you love the bubble, set it free.” We say “If you love people, set them free! Don’t buy SodaStream.” Please visit http://sodastreamboycott.org/ for more information.

Listen to this report on SodaStream from NPR: NPR Radio 2/4/2013

Resources: http://www.whoprofits.org/content/palestinian-workers-settlements, http://mondoweiss.net/2013/01/advertising-sodastream-arresting.html, http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/jewish-voice-for-peace-endorses-boycott-of-sodastream,

Call to Action: Mark the Verdict

Posted on August 27, 2012

Read “call to action” released in advance of verdict.

See photos from the response that occurred. Continue to send your photos to [email protected].

[Released: August 8, 2012]

Dear Friends,

The Corrie’s are on their way to Haifa for the verdict in their civil lawsuit later this month. We call on you to act in support. For ten years, you have remembered Rachel Corrie and followed the work of her family and many others to pursue accountability and justice in her case. You stood with the Corries when the Israeli Government failed to take responsibility for Rachel’s killing by the Israeli military in 2003. You stood with the Corries when the U.S. Government was largely ineffective despite their finding that the Israeli military police investigation of Rachel’s killing did not meet standards of being “thorough, credible, and transparent.” Seeking every possible avenue to push for transparency and accountability, and on advice of the U.S. Government, the Corrie family brought a civil lawsuit against the Israel Ministry of Defense and State.

(Click here for Palestine/Israel, US, and International specific information)

Now, nearly 7 1/2 years since the case was filed and nearly 2 1/2 years since the trial in Haifa District Court began, we ask you to continue to stand with the Corries as a verdict is announced the morning of August 28th in the courtroom of Judge Oded Gershon.

All of us at the Rachel Corrie Foundation hope the outcome will provide some measure of justice for Rachel’s killing; but regardless, the larger struggle for justice and equal rights continues. Inspired by Rachel’s work and her belief that all Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace with dignity and equality, we continue our efforts:

To seek a just peace in the Middle East and an end to the 45-year Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
To bring visibility to the oppression but also to the spirit and endurance of the people of Gaza and of all Palestinians.
To bring attention to the responsibility we all have for the continuing injustices and human rights abuses in Palestine, and for the particular culpability of corporate America and U.S. taxpayers.
To end Israel’s impunity regarding human rights violations, including home demolitions.

The Israeli policy of home demolitions, sometimes extending to entire villages, remains as urgent an issue now as it did when Rachel defended homes in Rafah, Gaza. Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and Hebron Hills live daily with the threat (or reality) of their homes being confiscated or turned into rubble. More than 1,000 houses were demolished in the Naqab alone in 2011, and the Prawer Plan, approved by the Israeli Government in September 2011, will lead to further displacement of 70,000 people. We call on you individually and as organizations to mark the week of the trial verdict with actions to end the housing demolitions that deny Palestinians the basic human right of being secure in their homes.

For those in Palestine/Israel:
We are inspired by the incredible work Israeli and Palestinian activists do to challenge home demolitions and confiscations. We encourage any actions organized the week of the verdict to include Rachel’s memory and spirit. You can include Rachel’s image by printing this poster of her in front of a bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Register your planned action here so we can post it to our website. Send photos or videos of your action to [email protected]. For information about further actions planned, contact Jen at [email protected].

For those in the USA:
We in the U.S. can impact home demolitions by removing support from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation and home demolition policies. The We Divest campaign to pressure investment firm TIAA-CREF to divest from such companies is a promising effort to end U.S. complicity in the occupation. Caterpillar Inc. is one of these companies. It profits from destruction wreaked upon Palestinian families, farms, and their economy using CAT equipment. Rachel was killed beneath a Caterpillar D9 weaponized bulldozer as she tried to protect the home of a Palestinian family. While TIAA-CREF recently removed CAT in its Social Choice accounts, it still holds over a billion dollars of CAT stock.

We ask our friends and allies to take the following actions as you are able:

1. From Sunday, August 26th until Sunday, September 2nd, deliver a letter to TIAA-CREF offices, and remember Rachel as you do. Combine this with a larger event, or designate a few people to deliver the letter. Register your planned action here so we can post it on our website. Download a copy of our sample TIAA-CREF letter and we will e-mail you a poster of a Palestinian family impacted by demolitions using CAT equipment. Our goal is to deliver letters to half of the 60 TIAA-CREF offices. Can you help us exceed our goal? With photos and videos from your actions we will launch a nationwide social media campaign with images that show the level of support for TIAA-CREF divestment.

2. Print this image of Rachel. Photograph yourself with it, and post it on our new Tumblr blog. Deliver the photo to the nearest Israeli Consulate demanding accountability and an end to home demolitions. We will gather images worldwide and also send them to the U.S. Department of State.

3. Take part in a live conference call with the Corrie family, Wednesday, August 29th, 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time/ 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. To participate in the call, RSVP to [email protected]. Host a house party or community gathering for those who want to join the call.

4. Sign the petition in support of the campaign to pressure TIAA-CREF to divest.

For those in other parts of the world:
We encourage you to use your creativity to take a stand against home demolitions. Register your planned action here so we can post it on our website. Please send photos and videos of your action to [email protected].

We invite all our friends and allies to share your reflections on Rachel’s stand on twitter with the hashtag #RememberRachel.

Together, we can seize the moment. We can tell Rachel’s story. Most of all, we can cry out with Rachel’s message of equality and human rights and for her call to end home demolitions and the Israeli occupation!

Thank you for your support as together we build the global movement for Palestinian human rights!

The Staff and Board of Directors
Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
Olympia, Washington

Don’t miss the Corrie family’s press releases leading up to and directly after the verdict. Sign up here for updates…

“This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don’t think it’s an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop. Disbelief and horror is what I feel. Disappointment. I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our world and that we, in fact, participate in it.”
– Rachel Corrie, February 27, 2003, to her mother

For info about Rachel Corrie…
For info about the trial in Israel…
For info about home demolitions…
For info about divestment…

Take Action!

Posted on August 10, 2012

We call on our friends, as individuals and as organizations, to mark the week of the Corrie trial verdict with the following actions in support of all whose rights have been violated by the Israeli Government:

(See the full Call to Action for history and goals leading up to this call. Click here for Palestine/Israel, US, and International specific information.)

Register Your Action	Poster of Rachel	Participate in the Conference Call
Sign the Petition	RCF Tumblr blog	Home Demolition Posters
List of TIAA-CREF Offices	Sample TIAA-CREF Letter	List of Israeli Consulates
We Divest TIAA-CREF Info

For those in the U.S.:
We in the U.S. can impact home demolitions by removing support from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation and home demolition policies. The We Divest campaign to pressure investment firm TIAA-CREF to divest from such companies is a promising effort to end U.S. complicity in the occupation. Caterpillar Inc. is one of these companies. It profits from destruction wreaked upon Palestinian families, farms, and their economy using CAT equipment. Rachel was killed beneath a Caterpillar D9 weaponized bulldozer as she tried to protect the home of a Palestinian family. While TIAA-CREF recently removed CAT in its Social Choice accounts, it still holds over a billion dollars of CAT stock.

Please take the following actions:

From Sunday, August 26th until Sunday, September 2nd, deliver a letter to TIAA-CREF offices, and remember Rachel as you do. Combine this with a larger event, or designate a few people to deliver the letter. Register your planned action here so we can post it on our website. Download a copy of our sample TIAA-Cref letter and we will e-mail you a poster of a Palestinian family impacted by demolitions using CAT equipment. Our goal is to deliver letters to half of the 60 TIAA-CREF offices. Can you help us exceed our goal? With photos and videos from your actions we will launch a nationwide social media campaign with images that show the level of support for TIAA-CREF divestment.
Print this image of Rachel. Photograph yourself with it, and post it on our new Tumblr blog. Deliver the photo to the nearest Israeli Consulate demanding accountability and an end to home demolitions. We will gather images worldwide and also send them to the U.S. Department of State.
Take part in a live conference call with the Corrie family, Wednesday, August 29th, 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time/ 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. To participate in the call, RSVP to [email protected]. Host a house party or community gathering for those who want to join the call.
Sign this petition in support of the campaign to pressure TIAA-CREF to divest.

For those in other parts of the world:
We encourage you to use your creativity to take a stand against home demolitions. Register your planned action here so we can post it on our website. Please send photos and videos of your action to [email protected].

We invite all our friends and allies to share reflections on Rachel’s stand on twitter with the hashtag #RememberRachel.

Letter to be Delivered to TIAA-CREF

Posted on August 10, 2012

TIAA-CREF: Honor the life of Rachel Corrie. Divest from the occupation!

Deliver or mail a message to a nearby TIAA-CREF location. Don’t forget to register your action on our website!

Read the full Call to Action here.

Dear Sir or Madam:

We are TIAA-CREF participants, investors, and supporters who are hugely appreciative of the recent decision to remove Caterpillar Inc. from TIAA-CREF’s Socially Responsible Investment Fund. However, we remain deeply concerned that in total holdings TIAA-CREF continues to invest heavily in Caterpillar Inc. and in other key companies that proﬁt from Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Some of these companies provide weapons and covert surveillance supplies that maintain the occupation by force. Others take or exploit Palestinian resources, including scarce water and even the land itself. All are proﬁting from Israel’s violations of international law and international human rights standards.

In 2003 in Gaza, peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death under a weaponized Caterpillar D9 bulldozer operated by the Israeli military, as she attempted to protect a Palestinian family’s home from illegal demolition. For years, Rachel’s family has sought justice through diplomatic means. The U.S. Government has consistently stated that the Israeli investigation of the matter is inadequate. In 2005 the Corrie family filed a civil lawsuit in Israel in which they charge the Israel Ministry of Defense and State with violating Rachel’s constitutional rights to life and dignity (rights anchored in international humanitarian and human rights law and in Israel’s Basic Law). After a nearly 7 ½ year process, the verdict in this case will finally be announced on August 28th and marks a significant moment in the movement for Palestinian human rights of which Rachel was a part.

Just as the Corrie family seeks justice, so do the thousands of Palestinians whose homes, schools, and orchards have been demolished with Caterpillar equipment sold to and used by the Israel Defense Forces. The D9R bulldozer, an armored variation of the D9 track-type tractor manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. and used in the operation that killed Rachel Corrie, is one piece of CAT equipment used to support the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem and to destroy the homes and appropriate land from the Bedouin population of Israel. Caterpillar Inc. is a major supplier of military engineering equipment through its Governmental and Defense Products division.

As the verdict in Corrie vs Israel draws near, we call on TIAA-CREF to do the following:

Honor the memory of Rachel Corrie and support the quest for justice for the destruction wreaked upon the Palestinian people, by divesting completely from Caterpillar Inc.

Divest from companies that directly profit from or contribute to the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Divest from all companies that provide products or services that contribute to the construction and maintenance of Israeli settlements and/or the Separation Wall, both of which are illegal under international law.

Divest from all companies that provide products or services that contribute to or enable violent acts that target civilians.

Establish investment criteria to exclude any such companies in the future.

For almost 100 years, TIAA-CREF has striven to provide financial services for the greater good, helping those in academic, medical, cultural, and research ﬁelds to plan for and live in retirement. Please take the moral steps needed to ensure that TIAA-CREF is not party to the continuing illegal and immoral 45-year Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and that all TIAA-CREF participants can invest the fruits of their labor and enjoy their retirements in good conscience.

Sincerely,

(Name of individual or organization)

Companies that profit from the illegal Israeli occupation:

CATERPILLAR INC. profits from the destruction of Palestinian homes and the uprooting of Palestinian orchards by supplying the armor-plated and weaponized bulldozers and other equipment used for such demolition work.

VEOLIA profits from the construction and expansion of illegal Jewish-only settlements by operating a landfill in the West Bank, by exploiting Palestinian natural resources to serve the settlements, and by contracting for the future operation of an illegal light rail system connecting these settlements with Jerusalem.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN profits from the production of parts for Apache helicopters and F-16 aircraft, used by Israel against civilians in Gaza during Israel’s 2008-09 assault.

ELBIT profits from confiscation of Palestinian land by providing surveillance equipment that is mounted on the Separation Wall, which was declared unlawful by the International Court of Justice.

MOTOROLA profits from Israel’s control of the Palestinian population by providing surveillance systems around Israeli settlements, checkpoints, and military camps in the West Bank, and communication systems to the Israeli army and West Bank settlers.”

Supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement

Posted on April 27, 2012

The Rachel Corrie Foundation supports the Unified Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions launched in July 2005 and the global BDS movement for Palestine.

» Read the Rachel Corrie Foundation Statement on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions…

In support of the Olympia Food Co-op at the recent court hearing.

In our work, we have been witness to the lack of intention or will on the part of the Israeli and U.S. Governments to secure freedom, equality, self-determination and security for all in Palestine/Israel, and the inability of the international community to do so. We are keenly aware of Palestinians who have lived under oppression for over sixty years and of their Israeli counterparts who have felt the consequences of their government’s unjust policies — many of whom have struggled in solidarity with their neighbors for decades to change these policies. Step by step, action by action, we must build support for justice and equality for all in Palestine/Israel — support that government leaders will not be able to dismiss. Rachel Corrie took a stand in March 2003 for a Palestinian family whose home was threatened with demolition. We believe the Olympia Food Co-op, of which she was a member, now stands with millions throughout the world who say, “Enough.”

Get Involved!

There are a number of different ongoing campaigns nationwide that supporters of human rights for Palestinians can become involved in. Locally, the Rachel Corrie Foundation is working to defend the gains of our Olympia Coop, the first food institution to implement a full boycott, to push for a boycott of Caterpillar, and to support efforts by members of the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to divest from companies profiting from the occupation. For information on volunteering with RCF, contact [email protected] to receive a volunteer form. For more information on national campaigns, and other local campaigns in Olympia, see the list below.

Local Campaigns

Olympia BDS – Olympia BDS is a grassroots network of community members in Olympia, WA, joining the call by Palestinian civil society for a nonviolent, global movement of boycott, divestment, and sanctions of Israel, until it meets the requirements of human rights and international law.

TESC Divest! at the Evergreen State College – TESC Divest! is a student-led organization in Olympia, Washington working to end Evergreen State College’s complicity in Israel’s abuses of Palestinian human rights through the non-violent tactic of divestment.

National Campaigns

U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) – USACBI is a U.S.-based campaign focused on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, responding to the call of Palestinian civil society to join the BDS movement against Israel.

U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation – The U.S. Campaign is a coalition of over 380 local, regional, and national groups working to end U.S. support for Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem through a variety of strategies, including BDS. The Rachel Corrie Foundation is one of the member organizations of the U.S. Campaign.

We Divest – We Divest is a campaign by Jewish Voice for Peace – the largest US-based grassroots organization dedicated to promoting full equality, democracy, and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians – to pressure TIAA-CREF, one of the largest financial services companies in the United States, to divest from the Israeli occupation.

Get Involved!

Local Campaigns

National Campaigns

Connect with RCF Online