Our organizations write to express solidarity with the people of Palestine and to support the USG Caterpillar referendum calling for a ban on the use of Caterpillar construction equipment on campus. While it would have been easier for our organizations to stay in our respective lanes, we need to remember the words of Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Therefore, we are releasing this statement together because our organizations do not stand alone—our struggles are interconnected. From environmental destruction and the Prison Industrial Complex to liberation for Indigenous and occupied peoples and freedom from discrimination and hate, our solidarity is vital.
This year, five independent human rights organizations have denounced Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic and, most recently, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. For decades, The Israel Defense Force has used Caterpillar machinery to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes, to destroy civilian infrastructure, and, most heinously, to murder American activist Rachel Corrie and Palestinian civilians. Caterpillar has not apologized or paid restitution to the families of murdered Palestinians. Instead, they continue to supply the Israeli army with the equipment to perpetuate apartheid.
This agent of apartheid has no place on our campus. Therefore, we endorse voting YES on USG Referendum Question 3, calling for a halt to use of all Caterpillar machinery on campus. We stand for human rights, together and always.
Signatories:
Divest Princeton
The Alliance of Jewish Progressives
The Muslim Students Association
SPEAR
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