Caterpillar and Tiaa-Cref. Lies the BDS'ers told me.

Caterpillar. One way or another, the BDS'ers are obsessed by it. Even Medea Benjamin  of Code Pink found Caterpillar irresistible, and kept an investment of $180,000 in Caterpillar stock in her Foundation until 2011.

Caterpillar. Another BDS fail

Its no wonder. Caterpillar performs, both in the field and in the market.  Caterpillar continues to pay a dividend yield of 3.27%, compared to the average 2% dividend paid out by other companies in the S and P index.

Gaza loves their Caterpillars, too, and neither JVP nor the Corries have been able to convince them to give 'em up, begging the question of just who and what is this "Palestinian civil society" we keep hearing about?

Caterpillar in Gaza

But, but, but, you say "Tiaa-Cref divested."   Ummmm.  No.  Several socially conscious funds removed Caterpillar from their portfolio in 2012 as the result of an employee labor dispute. When the issue was resolved Caterpillar was returned to the listing.

In 2012,  the We Divest Website- a JVP sock puppet site proudly proclaimed Caterpillar Removed from TIAA-CREF’s Social Choice Funds , heralding it as a "Victory for Pro-divestment Advocates". The carefully worded press release implied that Tiaa-Cref's choice was the result of activist pressure, when the reality was different. It was another routine business decision manipulated by anti-Israel activists and transformed into yet another BDS hoax

Notice how JVP and friends aren't that quick to announce that today Tiaa-Cref has over $3.4 million invested in Caterpillar in their Social Choice Equity Fund, marking another great big BDS fail ?

JVP's Rabbi Alissa Wise engages in Sinat Chinam on Tisha B'Av

From Emunah:

After 3 years of increasing pressure on Tiaa-Cref, the answer was clear. The answer was "No". No, the investment giant would not allow its shareholder's meeting to be hijacked by a fringe minority group. No, they would not allow their 3.7 million plan participants retirement futures' be dictated by a tiny minority with a political ax to grind.

What was left for JVP to do, but protest? And true to form, they scheduled their day of rage for the Jewish fast day Tisha b'Av. You didn't actually expect them to mourn the loss of our temple, did you?

At first glance, the July 16th Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Global Exchange and American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Tiaa-Cref protest in San Francisco seemed like a salute to corporate America, with its baffling array of signage.

 If they can't even spell apartheid, how can they possibly look it up and know what it means?

Spelling challenged anti-Israel protester in San Francisco

Song leader Dalit (Dov) Baum vainly tried to engage the handful of protesters, leading chants and songs. 

Dalit (Dov) Baum leading Tiaa-Cref protest

Eventually a  ukulele was brought out. It was that bleak. Passersby hurried past on their way to grab a bite of lunch, largely ignoring the group.

Rabbi Alissa Wise of JVP's Rabbinic Council also attended the protest. In her blog, the Palestinian Talmud, she writes

Tochecha is about our obligation to tell someone when they have done or are currently straying and behaving wrongly – whether to us, or to another. What’s more, tochecha requires us also to engage with those we are rebuking and assist them and support them in the repair of the wrong you are calling out.

Almost like a real rabbi, right? But don't let it fool you.

While I was photographing the protest, Rabbi Alissa Wise walked up to me, chanting loudly into her megaphone, and deliberately placed it inches from my ear.  It was an assault on more than my senses. We've learned to expect temper tantrums from JVP, but coming from the head of the JVP Rabbinic Council, this act was particularly appalling.  When those invested with the spiritual guidance of a group engage in such harmful, petty and vicious acts, we can see quite clearly why the group's moral compass is askew.

You have strayed, Rabbi Wise. You have behaved wrongly. Your baseless hatred, your Sinat Chinam caused you to publicly violate the personal space of a woman old enough to be your mother, simply because you disagreed with her politics.

Sadly, in her own deeply disturbing way, JVP's Rabbi Alissa Wise delivered a wordless sermon on Sinat Chinam on Tisha B'Av.

JVP: Searching for relevance

From Jewish Voice for Peace's position statement on BDS:  January 24, 2012.  Take it with the proverbial grain of salt.

Summary: 
JVP has grown dramatically in size and influence in the past two years. As part of the ongoing assessment sparked by this growth, JVP reviewed its BDS policy. On the basis of an organization-wide conversation about BDS, we have refined our position while maintaining our strategy. JVP shares the aims of the Palestinian Boycott National Committee — ending the occupation, achieving equality for Palestinians now living in Israel, and recognizing Palestinian refugees’ right of return. JVP focuses our efforts on boycott and divestment campaigns that directly target Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and its blockade of the Gaza Strip. We believe this to be the most effective way for JVP to help bring about the aims we share with the Palestinian BDS call

I'm particularly interested in JVP's claim of dramatic growth in the last few years. The national JVP meeting in Berkeley (which incidentally refused to allow any media presence) was contained, with room to spare, in a small Berkeley hotel.  JVP's  got a long way to go before their "Move over AIPAC" dream is realized- the pro-Israel lobby attracted over 13,000 to their annual meeting  A recent JVP sponsored protest in San Francisco at a Jewish Community fair yielded  a dozen aging activists trudging aimlessly in a circle, while tens of thousands gathered inside.



Contrast that pitiful display with the youthful exuberance inside the gardens:



Most recently, "Jewish" Voice for Peace displayed their contempt  for "Jewish values" by scheduling their latest day of rage against financial giant Tiaa-Cref  for Tisha B'Av.   Tisha B'Av,  the fast of the 9th of Av  is a day of mourning to commemorate the destruction of our holy temple in Jerusalem, as well as the many other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people.  The proud to be ashamed to be Jewish crowd once again shows their priorities, distancing themselves from the worship of their people in favor of  promoting their narrow political agenda.  While Jewish people across the world will be sharing our collective grief and  mourning for our people,  JVP will be spending the day fulfilling their role as the "wicked child" at the seder,  trying to bully Tiaa-Cref  into submission.

JVP suffers a major defeat in its campaign against Tiaa-Cref

In a major defeat for Jewish Voice for Peace and the entire BDS Movement, the SEC has ruled that investment giant Tiaa-Cref is not required to include an anti-Israel measure at its shareholder’s meeting.

The campaign against Tiaa-Cref was launched in New York City on June 10, 2010. Called by Jewish voice for Peace and  attended by members of Code Pink,  Brooklyn for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Jews Say No and  Adalah, organizers anticipated  a 3-5 year campaign, quipping  “If we had a flotilla a week it can be much faster. We don’t think we can win in 6 months or a year.”   Its now been 3 full years of fail.

From the Jewish Press, written by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner 

The antisemitic BDS movement suffered a major defeat this week when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) authorized pension fund giant TIAA-CREF to exclude a resolution calling for divestments from Israeli companies from the ballot at the fund’s upcoming shareholders meeting. The resolution, put forward by a small band of extremist shareholders, would have allowed TIAA-CREF‘s full membership to vote on the resolution at the meeting in North Carolina in July. In the wake of the SEC ruling, however, the resolution will now not be presented to the shareholders and will not be voted upon at all.

 Following the submission of the divestment resolution, TIAA-CREF officials had written to the SEC requesting that it be permitted, due to its biased and anti-Israel political content, to “take no action” on the resolution. Essentially, it was asked that they be allowed to leave it off the ballot completely and ignored.

In response to this failure, Jewish Voice for Peace declared a Day of Rage against Tiaa-Cref, asking people to flood the Tiaa-Cref Offices with phone calls. 

At their "We Divest" website,  JVP and friends provides the formula for harassing Tiaa-Cref, and provide sample scripts to read

Dial: (212) 490-9000,

Press 1, when prompted for name of person you are calling say: “Roger Ferguson”

In the past, TIAA-CREF has shut down Ferguson’s phone line in response to mass call-in actions.  Luckily, you can still get your message through by trying other lines!

1.  If the phone number does not go through at all, try calling 212-913-2803 or 866-842-2442.  Press 1, and when prompted for name of person you are calling say: Roger Ferguson

2.  If the extension to Ferguson does not work, then call another high-ranking TIAA-CREF official.  For the Chief Operating Officer, press 1 and say “Ronald Pressman”.  For the Chief Financial Officer, press 1 and say “Gina Wilson”.

Quite a change from their June 2010 planning meeting, when they said  "Tiaa-Cref is not our enemy" .

Read more about this latest BDS fail at the Jewish press

And lets offer thanks to the SEC and to Nitsana Darshan-Leitner for ensuring that 200 extremists with a narrow political agenda do not dictate the investment policy for 3.7 million people.

UPDATE from the Algeminer

A decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow a major financial services group to ignore requests from Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions activists to block investment in Israel set a precedent that could effectively end the BDS movement’s onslaught of the financial community, legal analysts told The Algemeiner.

Rather than a legal precedent in a court of law, the SEC’s decision to allow Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), which manages $520 billion for 3.7 million people, to “take no action” on the BDS request to hear a motion at a shareholders meeting on operational grounds would offer the same protection for other major financial firms with investments in Israel....

A spokesman for TIAA-CREF explained the three pillars of its argument to the SEC: that it would be inappropriate for the financial services company to involve itself in a complex political debate; that the BDS motion was tantamount to micro-managing its management function of buying and selling stocks; and that the company already had an internal system for assessing any human rights concerns of countries where it invests.

In its decision, the SEC agreed with the final point: “There appears to be some basis for your view that the Fund may omit the proposal from the Fund’s proxy materials pursuant to Rule 14a-8(i)(10) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which permits omission of a proposal that has been substantially implemented...

 Sam Nunberg, director of the Middle East Forum’s Legal Project said, “This is a small victory for America in that our firms can go about their business, but it is a tremendous failure that more has not been done to end the BDS movement from twisting our system, ignoring our laws and lying to the good citizens of this country.”

The We Divest Campaign Against TIAA-CREF: Hubris and Arrogance

After an intense three year campaign against investment giant TIAA-CREF, the “We Divest” alliance of associated Israeli-haters, including Adalah-NY, the American Friends Service Committee, (AFSC)  Grassroots International,  Jewish Voice for Peace, (JVP)  the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, and the US Palestinian Community Network has convinced 200 plan participants to sign their petition. That's not a typo.

That's 200 out of 3.7 million participants.

0074 %.    Less than 1/100 of 1 percent of TIAA- CREF shareholders.  74 people per million

The hubris and arrogance is breath-taking,  yet is representative of the modus operandi of the BDS movement in general. A tiny minority- a fringe of the fringe- attempts to hijack the agenda a large community institution, and to bully them into compliance.  Anna Baltzer has issued a press release condemning the investment giant for its refusal to set aside its fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders to advance her bigoted political agenda.   Steve Tamari of the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee claims “TIAA-CREF has not only ignored our moral concerns, but now refuses to let us vote or have any voice on the issue."

No, Steve. No, Anna.   The leadership at TIAA-CREF has listened to your voices. They've taken your phone calls. They've received your petitions. They've responded to your Tweets. They've rolled their collective eyeballs at your flash mobs and lame attempts at street theater.  And still the answer is NO. They heard your arguments, and they've rejected them.

As do all people of conscience.

Did JVP lie About TIAA-CREF?

Did JVP lie about TIAA-CREF's divestment from Caterpillar? Did JVP lie about their "huge" victory?

An email from Adalah NY certainly implies that the victory may not have been quite as "huge" as JVP originally claimed. Once again TIAA-CREF is being targeted for not doing what JVP claimed they already did. Can't keep up with the lies? Don't worry. None of us can. Incidentally, Adalah NY has been involved with the JVP campaign since the very beginning- Adalah members attended Rebecca Vilkommerson's campaign launch 2 years ago. With $900 million remaining in Caterpillar stock, I'd be willing to venture that TIAA-CREF's "divestment" wasn't quite as "huge" a victory as JVP originally claimed

Be afraid, TIAA-CREF. Be very afraid. Adalah is going to SING. And DANCE. And CHANT. That'll show you.

************


Adalah NY's email:

Tell TIAA-CREF, Divest from the Israeli Occupation!

What: A street action with songs, music, dancing, and chants calling on TIAA-CREF to divest from the Israeli occupation of Palestine
When: Tuesday, July 17, 12:30 - 2:30 PM
Where: TIAA-CREF headquarters in New York - 730 3rd Ave (between 45th and 46th Sts)

Why: TIAA-CREF has made a historic decision to divest $72.9 million of Caterpillar stock from their Social Choice fund. But this is only the beginning! TIAA-CREF still invests over $900 million in Caterpillar in other portfolios. In addition, its Social Choice fund contains investments in Motorola Solutions, which developed the surveillance and communications systems for use in illegal Israeli settlements and the apartheid wall, and Hewlett-Packard, which owns the biometric monitoring system used in Israeli military checkpoints, provides data storage solutions for illegal Israeli settlements, and coordinates information technology for the Israeli Navy. TIAA-CREF also continues to hold onto its investments in Elbit, Veolia, Northrup Grumman, and Africa Israel, all of which are complicit in the illegal Israel occupation of Palestine.

Join us on July 17 during the TIAA-CREF shareholders' meeting to demand that TIAA-CREF live up to its motto "For the Greater Good" and divest from all its holdings in companies profiting from the violation of international law and Palestinian human rights.

***********

For more information on the campaign, visit our TIAA-CREF campaign page and WeDivest.org.

Organized by Adalah-NY. Endorsed by Brooklyn For Peace; Jewish Voice for Peace - NY; Jews Say No!; Siegebusters; Queers Against Israeli Apartheid; International Socialist Organization; Jewish Voice for Peace - Westchester; WESPAC Foundation; Women in Black, Union Square (list in formation).


Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel
c/o WESPAC Foundation
52 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
United States