Caterpillar is not just the company whose construction equipment you’ve been seeing on the side of the freeway all summer. Caterpillar is another one of the genocide profiteers that CalSTRS (California State Teacher Retirement System, the state pension fund for teachers in California) is invested in.
CalSTRS has $213,827,000 invested in Caterpillar, and Caterpillar has been a pillar of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and Israel’s imperialism throughout the region. Starting with the attack on the Suez Canal in 1956, the Israeli military has relied on Caterpillar’s armored bulldozers as crucial military equipment. Famously, it was a Caterpillar bulldozer that killed American activist Rachel Corrie as she tried to stop it from razing a Palestinian home to the ground. Today, in Gaza and the West Bank, Caterpillar’s machines, military grade D9 dozers, are being used to demolish buildings and remove rubble to make way for Israeli settlements. In February 2025, the US Secretary of State approved a $295 million sale to Israel of Caterpillar D9 dozers and related parts. The US government and Caterpillar are fully aware of their machines being used for decades of illegal home demolitions and forced displacement.
Support the CalSTRS divest campaign by signing the petition at calstrsdives.org/take-action. Are you a member of a teachers’ union or community org? Talk to your local/org about endorsing the campaign!
#retiregenocide#calstrs#calstrsdivest#gaza#gazagenocide#freepalestine#endtheoccupation#booksnotbombs#divest#bds#pension#teachers#california
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