CATERPILLAR WILL CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS WITH ISRAEL

Caterpillar Digs In on Israeli Bulldozer Battle
Palestinian-aligned protesters tried to use Caterpillar Inc.'s annual meeting Wednesday to persuade the company to re-examine sales to Israel, but they were met with a resistance befitting a manufacturer of bulldozers. Caterpillar leadership refused to heed calls that it stop providing the Israeli army with bulldozers that, when armored, have been used to demolish Palestinian homes in disputed areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Jewish groups and others have characterized the destruction as attacks on known terrorist hideouts and a legitimate means of self-defense. Arab nations rejected a boycott of Caterpillar, Chairman James Owens said, because the company's products are used throughout the Middle East to abet construction and human progress. (Chicago Sun-Times)