OLYMPIA, WA – A coalition of Jewish and Palestinian human rights advocates has successfully pressured the Washington state treasurer’s office to divest $53 million in investments in the equipment company Caterpillar.
The group “Cut Ties with Genocide” charges that for 60 years, the Israeli military has used Caterpillar bulldozers to tear down homes in Gaza and other Palestinian territories.
Rae Levine, an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace in Seattle, said state officials listened to them and took action.
“They initiated their Environmental Social Government guidelines back in 2021 and divested from fossil-fuel companies,” she said. “Their portfolio hasn’t included weapons companies, but we pointed out that they did hold Caterpillar bonds.”
Levine said the company continues to supply machinery that is used for what she called the “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.” In the past, the state treasurer’s guidelines have led to the end of investments in fossil fuels and weapons manufacturers.
Caterpillar released a statement saying it does not “condone the illegal or immoral use of any Caterpillar equipment,” but did not say whether it would stop selling to Israel.
Levine said the bulldozers are considered military aid and are provided with U.S. taxpayer dollars. She said local advocates have a personal interest in stopping the bulldozers because of a fatal incident in Gaza that killed an Olympia-born rights activist.
“Here in Washington State,” she said, “we especially are aware of Caterpillar because Rachel Corrie, a Washingtonian activist, was killed by Israeli soldiers driving a Caterpillar bulldozer in 2003.”
Levine said the group advocated for the passage of the Responsible Investment Act, a bill filed in the state Legislature that provided an ethics framework for the State Investment Board’s dealings. Although the bill did not pass this time, she said, they plan to bring it back next year.
“It is possible to make progress and to really reduce the money going to support these companies that are helping the war effort in these places,” she said, “especially now.”
