April 6, 2009

Moto Meets Our First Demand!

Last week Motorola Israel, Ltd. sold its Government Electronics Department to Israeli military contractor Aeronautics Defense Systems. This means that Motorola will no longer be selling bomb fuses to the Israeli military. The first demand of our boycott has been met!

While this first victory is sweet, it's far from the end of http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HoeggyrmwzovV1pUfBBNGvg6vBzXh%2Bae Hang Up On Motorola! Motorola Israel (which is wholly owned by Motorola USA) still produces a number of products that support Israel's military occupation and entrench its apartheid system in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Support Hang Up On Motorola now and ensure that we will stay steadfast until Motorola stops profiting from Israel's human rights abuses and violations of international law. Make a $30 or greater contribution and we'll send you a poster featuring Parachutes Falling, the winning design from our Expressions of Nakba art competition. Make a $50 or greater donation and receive a DVD of Occupation 101*. Make a $100 or greater contribution and we'll send you both Parachutes Falling and Occupation 101*.

What does this sale mean for Hang Up On Motorola?

1) We have Moto on the run - we can win this boycott! The only stated motivation for this sale is that it "would enable Aeronautics to provide more comprehensive solutions to its customers," and, on its part, Motorola has declined to comment. Of course, we expect Motorola will be reticent to admit that our pressure had anything to do with this sale. Read more about how pressure from international boycott & divestment campaigns are affecting Israeli businesses http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=GFCBDanXldE2pFAXkozw9Pg6vBzXh%2Bae here.

2) Motorola is still responsible for the damage that their products have done. The "bomb family" that utilized Motorola fuses is responsible for the deaths of at least 28 civilians in Lebanon and Human Rights Watch recently found shrapnel with Motorola serial numbers on it at the site of a civilian building in Gaza bombed during Operation Cast Lead.

3) We must keep our pressure up! Even after this sale, Moto still makes myriad products used by the Israeli military to continue its occupation and enforcement of apartheid. Motorola Israel has ongoing contracts with the Israeli military, both independently of and jointly with Aeronautics Defense Systems. These contracts include military communications systems and surveillance systems for Israel's apartheid wall and illegal settlements. Motorola Israel's subsidiary, MIRS, also makes mobile phones exclusively for Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This sort of business reinforces norms of apartheid and cannot be tolerated.

 

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