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 ?

Another BDS Hoax from JVP and Friends: TIAA-CREF confirms Sodastream holdings

Last month, the We Divest Campaign,  which includes Adalah-NY, the American Friends Service Committee, Grassroots International, Jewish Voice for Peace, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, and the US Palestinian Community Network claimed that Financial giant TIAA-CREF had divested from Sodastream, an Israeli company that manufacturers home carbonation devices.

Their press release read:

Pension fund giant TIAA-CREF has removed the increasingly controversial Israeli company SodaStream (NASD: SODA) from its portfolio. As of March 2013, financial data posted on TIAA-CREF’s website valued shares in SodaStream at $9,444,292. According to financial data available today, it is zero.

“No matter the reason TIAA-CREF dropped SodaStream, we view this as a conscientious decision.” said Sydney Levy of the We Divest Campaign (wedivest.org). “While SodaStream may be a profitable investment, it is socially bankrupt, operating out of an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.”

Alissa Wise, from JVP's Rabbinic council also sent out an email, declaring victory over the forces of evil and sound financial planning..

It is an exciting time for the We Divest Campaign!

Today, we released the news that according to TIAA-CREF's available financial data, they have dropped their investments in SodaStream--the Israeli company which manufactures its home seltzer machines in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Read more about TIAA-CREF dropping SodaStream!

Tomorrow, is the CREF shareholder meeting and the We Divest National Day of Action! We Divest activists will be taking to the streets in over a dozen cities nationwide. Locate a demonstration near you and join us!

If you can't join us in the streets, you can always be part of making our demand that TIAA-CREF divest from the Israeli occupation right from your couch! Log-on to Twitter and/or Facebook and help spread the word!

Onward,
Alissa, We Divest National Coordinator

 Like so many other claims regarding the success of the BDS movement, this turned out to be false.

From The Algemeiner

TIAA-CREF, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund, which manages $520 billion on behalf of millions of teachers and other union members, confirmed on Thursday that, as of July 15, 2013, it held a significant stake in SodaStream International Ltd., denying claims from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that the fund manager had sold its shares in the Israeli company as a political protest.

A TIAA-CREF spokesman said that information provided in its second quarter filing of June 30, 2013, was accurate and that SodaStream shares were held during that period. The fund is prohibited by regulators to cite positions held within the past 30 days, but the spokesman was also able to confirm to The Algemeiner that SodaStream shares were still in its portfolio as of July 15, 2013, the last date it could disclose.

The spokesman said that while there was an element of truth in the BDS claim,  it was also, ultimately, inaccurate.  One TIAA-CREF fund, its Mid-Cap Growth fund, had sold its SodaStream shares as of its first quarter filing on Mar 31, 2013. But, within the second quarter, Soda Stream shares were bought by another TIAA-CREF portfolio, the  Growth & Income Fund, which continued to hold the shares, as of July 15.

Meanwhile, an institutional fund, called the General Account, which invests for the TIAA-CREF Traditional Annuity product and only reports its holdings once a year, was ignored by the BDS campaign: that TIAA-CREF portfolio has held its SodaStream shares continuously, including during the second quarter.

 True to form, no disclaimer, rebuttal or addendum has appeared on any of the sites formerly claiming this a "huge" BDS success. No email has been sent out apologizing for the misleading information.

Truth does not matter to those that hate Israel. It never has. It never will.

JVP Joins its partners in slime in Tiaa-Cref Divestment Song and Dance

Why is Jewish Voice for Peace held in such disdain by members of the Jewish Community? One key reason is that they don't hesitate to stand side by side with those who seek the destruction of the Jewish homeland.  In San Francisco on  Tuesday July 16,  JVP is pairing with anti-Israel activists from Code Pink, the Arab Resource Organizing Center, and Sabeel  for a Day of Rage directed towards financial giant Tiaa-Cref, for refusing to capitulate to their divestment demands.  

Looks like San Francisco is getting a "flash mob".
That'll show those investment  bankers....
Pity the poor New Yorkers who will be putting up with mimes.

But at  least they'll be quiet.

UPDATE:
Here's the full list of JVP's day of rage actions against Tiaa-Cref. Let us know if you are planning a counter- we'll be happy to post your info.

Ann Arbor
5:00 pm
TIAA-CREF offices- 333 Maynard Street
Boston
12:15 PM meet in Harvard Square (the pit)
12:30 - March to TIAA-CREF

Chicago
12: 00 pm
TIAA-CREF office - 200 N. LaSalle Street
Denver
5 pm
TIAA-CREF Office - 17th & Broadway
Detroit
11:30 am
TIAA-CREF Office- 2000 Town Center in Southfiled, Michigan
Ithaca
12:00 pm
Meet in the center of Dewitt Park, then march to TIAA-CREF Ithaca Office-  130-131 E. Green St (between Palmers Pharmacy and Urban Outfitters)
Los Angeles
Time/Date TBA
Louisville
Time/Date TBA
New York
5 pm
TIAA-CREF office- 750 3rd Avenue between 45th&46th Streets (4/5 to Grand Central)
Philadelphia
8:15 am
TIAA-CREF office at 1835 Market Street, corner of 19th Street
Sacramento
Time/Date TBA
San Francisco
12:00 pm
TIAA-CREF Office- 560 Mission St. (near 2nd St.)
Seattle
Time/Date TBA
Washington D.C
July 14th, 2:00 pm
 In front of Columbia Heights Mall -- at the Columbia Heights Metro Station on 14th St.-- just north of the intersection with Irving St.

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.