Now, more then ever, Israeli activists need a powerful global movement to help us build a just peace in Israel/Palestine. Looking for effective tools for ending the occupation, we have launched a new website WhoProfits.org listing companies directly involved in the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. The grassroots initiative, of the Israeli Coalition of Women for Peace, includes a database and an information center and reflects an ongoing two-year effort, rigorous research, documentation, and site visits.
This unprecedented online resource already lists about 200 companies, and hundreds more will be added during 2009, offering an extensive and intricate mapping of the corporate aspects of and interests in the continued occupation. The website offers a new useful categorization of all corporate interests in the occupation and exposes specific examples of direct involvement of many international and Israeli companies for the first time. In tracing ownership links, it shows in detail how some of Israel’s largest corporations are tied in with the occupation.
The database allows for advanced searches, such as: Which U.S. corporations support the West Bank military checkpoints? Which of the companies are listed in the London stock exchange? What settlements’ production is formally registered inside Israel? Note, however, that the data online are always partial, always growing. Please send us any relevant information, further requests for information, or suggestions.
As Israeli activists, we feel obligated to try and educate ourselves and others about the economic incentives and corporate involvement in the occupation, but this is not enough. You can support our efforts by continuing this investigation in your own country, by informing others of our website, or by sending us a much needed donation.
The Coalition of Women for Peace is a leading Israeli feminist peace organization, dedicated to ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights and reaching a just peace in Israel/Palestine. In exposing companies and corporations involved in the occupation, it hopes to promote change in public opinion and corporate policies, leading to an end to the occupation.