[Boycott - Euro News]

Dutch bank divests holdings in Jerusalem light rail, cites settlements

Meron Rapoport , Haaretz Correspondent
3 December 2006

A Dutch bank has decided to divest itself of its holdings in a French company that is participating in building Jerusalem's light rail system, on the grounds that the project "is not in line with the United Nation's demand to stop all support for Israel's settlement activities."

Work recently began on the railway's first line, which will run from Neveh Ya'akov to Mount Herzl, passing through parts of the city that Israel annexed in 1967 on its way.

ASN, the Dutch bank, holds shares in the French firm, Veolia, whose subsidiary Connex Israel holds about 5 percent of the CityPass consortium. CityPass won the NIS 2 billion tender to build the line.

ASN is a medium-sized bank, with 250,000 customers, deposits totaling two billion euros and investments totaling 900 million euros in 2005. It also considers itself an "ethical bank," and is therefore committed to investing only in projects that do not infringe on human or animal rights or harm the environment.

In May 2006, human rights organizations wrote to ASN claiming that Veolia's work on the light rail project violated international law, because part of the railway will pass through "occupied territory" in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority also wrote to ASN, claiming that the railway's construction would have "devastating effects" on Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, as it would connect the "illegal settlements" of Pisgat Ze'ev and Neveh Ya'akov (two Jerusalem neighborhoods) with downtown Jerusalem, and thereby sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank.

Both the bank and the human rights groups therefore urged Veolia to end its involvement in the project, and the organizations claim that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas also raised the matter with French President Jacques Chirac. Veolia replied that it is looking into the matter, "but meanwhile, ASN Bank's criteria are not met by that answer," the bank said. As a result, it decided last week to sell its shares in Veolia.

Bank officials told Haaretz that UN resolutions on Jerusalem were the reason for this decision.

The human rights groups are now urging the bank to divest from an Irish construction company that has partnered with an Israeli firm to make concrete used in building the separation fence. ASN told Haaretz it is examining all investments involving Israel and the territories, "as we do for every other region in the world continuously."

Micha Avisar, CEO of Connex Israel, said he could neither confirm nor deny the report. The Light Rail Administration, which is jointly run by the Transportation Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality, said that this was an internal CityPass affair, but stressed the project is meant to serve all the city's residents, Jewish and Arab alike.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=795723&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1

Principled Dutch ASN Bank ends relations with Veolia

Adri Nieuwhof, The Electronic Intifada
2007-11-26

This week, ASN Bank, a Dutch bank based in The Hague, announced that it would end its relationship with Veolia Transport, and all companies that benefit from Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

Since it first announced its intentions to become involved in an Israeli project to build a light rail / tramline system, to be constructed in occupied East Jerusalem, Veolia Transport, a French multi-national corporation, faced a lot of criticism from all over the world. The tramline aims to connect the illegally-constructed settlements in East Jerusalem with towns and cities in Israel.

In its correspondence with Veolia ASN Bank explained the reasons for ending the relationship with Veolia:

ASN Bank did not want to have any relationship with a company that benefited from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. In this regard, it is expected that ASN Bank will also end its relationship with the Irish company Cement Roadstone Holdings Plc (CRH). CRH is co-owner of the Israeli Mashav Group, the main provider of cement in the illegal construction of the wall in the West Bank. CRH also owns 129 Gamma and Karwei home improvement centres in the Netherlands.

For full article explaining exactly how the successful action came about please see: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6076.shtml

Source: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6076.shtml

Also Of Interest

Former EU leaders call to sanction and boycott Israel Twenty-six former European Union leaders, including the EU’s former top diplomat, Javier Solana, issued a letter last week calling for boycotts and sanctions targeting Israel due to settlement construction.