Announcing a new on-line database: www.whoprofits.org
Now, more then ever, Israeli activists need a powerful global movement to help us build a just peace in Israel/ Palestine. Looking for effective tools for ending the occupation, we have launched a new website listing companies directly involved in the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. The grassroots initiative, of the Israeli Coalition of Women for Peace, includes a database and an information center, and reflects an on-going two-year effort, rigorous research, documentation and site visits.
This unprecedented online resource already lists about 200 companies, and hundreds more will be added during 2009, offering an extensive and intricate mapping of the corporate aspects and interests in the continued occupation. The website offers a new useful categorization of all corporate interests in the occupation, and exposes specific examples of direct involvement of many international and Israeli companies for the first time. In tracing ownership links it shows in detail how some of Israel's largest corporations are tied in with the occupation.
The database allows for advanced searches, such as: Which U.S. corporations support the West Bank military checkpoints? Which of the companies are listed in the London stock-exchange? What settlements' production is formally registered inside Israel? Note, however, that the data online is always partial, always growing, and please send us any relevant information, further requests for information or suggestions.
As Israeli activists, we feel obligated to try and educate ourselves and others about the economic incentives and corporate involvement in the occupation, but this is not enough. You can support our efforts by continuing this investigation in your own country or by informing others of our website.
In exposing companies and corporations involved in the occupation, we hope to promote a change in public opinion and corporate policies, leading to an end to the occupation.
Along with various political, religious and national interests, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights is fueled by corporate interests. Israeli companies and multinational corporations lead real estate deals, develop the Israeli infrastructure and settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories and the Golan Heights, contribute to the construction and operation of an ethnic separation system, including checkpoints, walls and roads, design and supply equipment and tools used in the control and repression of the civilian population under occupation.
Currently, we focus our attention on three main areas of corporate involvement in the occupation: The Settlement Industry, Economic Exploitation and Control of Population. At this stage in our project, we are not investigating the vast industry of military production and arms trade. The information we provide on the exploitation of Palestinian labor and production is also very limited. Other organizations (Kav LaOved, Adva Center, and The Alternative Information Center) have investigated these fields of involvement in depth, and wherever necessary, we show a link to their publications.
You can learn more about using our website by taking our GUIDED TOUR,
or go directly to any of its four parts:
• How to find the companies listed under a particular category
• How to find companies using a combination of search criteria
• How to find companies according to country of origin or country of activity
• How to conduct key word searches
The information we publish on this website has been collected by activists of the Coalition of Women for Peace. This is a continuous community research effort, and the published database reflects parts of our on-going investigation and work in progress. The online database, therefore, is ever-changing and incomplete, and the information published may be partial or outdated. However, we never publish any allegation without corroborating it ourselves, using public documents, the companies' own publications, or site visits. The information we share in this website is not “secret”: even if some firms try to obscure or downplay their involvement in these controversial projects, at most times the information is readily available.
We hope that this information will stimulate a candid public debate about the costs and benefits of the occupation to different parts of Israeli society, the international and local economic interests that play a role in the occupation, and how these interests influence political decision-making. We hope to serve as an information center for queries about corporate involvement in the occupation from individuals and groups working for corporate accountability, social justice and labor rights.
Despite the great efforts being put into the collection and compilation of the information on this website, it might still contain inaccuracies and errors. Please contact us with any corrections, suggestions or questions.
More Legal Disclaimers
Links
The recent report by Adva Center:
Is there an Israeli Business Peace Disincentive
by Shlomo Swirski, August 2008
Dutch Economic Links with the Israeli Occupation
The report published by United Civilians for Peace,
Prepared by Profundo 2005
Gush Shalom's list of Settlements’ Products
“The Economy of the Occupation”
The socioeconomic bulletin published by the Alternative Information Center, describing the economic realities of the Occupation
The CorpWatch website- corporate responsibility and activism
"Profiting from the Occupation" - The War on Want Report.
Involvement Categories
Israeli Construction on Occupied Land
http://www.whoprofits.org/Involvements.php?id=grp_inv_population
Submitted by atheo on Sat, 2009-02-07 00:24
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