Motorola Sells Israel Bomb Division as National Boycott Campaign Advances

From the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation:



Motorola Sells Israel Bomb Division as National Boycott Campaign Advances



Washington, DC (April 2)-The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and
allied

organizations participating in a national boycott campaign against Motorola
welcomed news

that Motorola Israel Ltd. has sold its Government Electronics Department,
which made several

products that enable Israel's military occupation of and human rights abuses
against

Palestinians.



The reported sale of the Motorola Israel department occurred just two days
after a globallycoordinated

day of action to promote campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions
(BDS) against

Israel and corporations that profit from its human rights abuses of
Palestinians. This day of action and

the growing global BDS movement were inspired by the 2005 call from
Palestinian civil society for

BDS campaigns targeting Israel, similar to campaigns targeting South
Africa's apartheid regime during

the 1970s and 1980s.



In Brooklyn, the New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel (NYCBI)
launched a city-wide boycott

campaign against Motorola, and cell phones stores selling Motorola products
were picketed in places

such as Cambridge, MA and Santa Clara, CA. The protests called on Motorola
and its fully owned

subsidiary, Motorola Israel Ltd., to end their sales of bomb fuses,
communication devices, and

surveillance equipment to the Israeli military. Human rights activists argue
that these technologies

are used by the Israeli military to violate human rights and international
law in the Occupied

Palestinian Territories. Human Rights Watch researchers found shrapnel with
Motorola serial

numbers on it at the site of bomb blasts after Israel's recent assault on
the Gaza Strip, dubbed

"Operation Cast Lead." For additional information about the case against
Motorola, click here.



In February, Hampshire College divested from several companies involved in
Israel's military

occupation, including Motorola. Hampshire College Students for Justice in
Palestine member Brian

Van Slyke had the following response to Motorola's recent actions:
"Hampshire Students for Justice

in Palestine are proud that, following the historic successful divestment
campaign from the

Israeli occupation at our college, another milestone has now been achieved
by the global BDS

movement. This proves that activists around the world can and are truly
making an impact in the

cause for Palestinian self-determination."



According to Katherine Fuchs, National Organizer for the US Campaign to End
the Israeli Occupation,

"Motorola is a corporation with a history of supplying products to human
rights abusing regimes.

Consumer pressure forced Motorola to sever its relations with the South
African apartheid regime and

the military junta in Burma, and we won't stop until they do the same with
Israel. The sale of Moto's

Government Electronics Department is a positive development and a sign that
Motorola is

being forced to respond to our boycott campaign. However, we will continue
to investigate

Motorola's remaining ties with the Israeli military and illegal Israeli
settlements; we will continue

our campaign until we find that Motorola no longer profits from human rights
violations in the Occupied

Palestinian Territories."



The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is a national coalition of
more than 270 organizations

working for a U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine and responsible consumer
choices to support human

rights, international law, and equality for all in Israel/Palestine. For
more information about the US