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JVP exposed: Tiaa cref Caterpillar Divestment Hoax revealed
by PIBB
Friday, Jun. 22, 2012 at 6:25 PM
"While TIAA-CREF acknowledges participants’ varying views on Israeli and Palestinian policies and the Gaza Strip and West Bank, we are unable to alter our investment policy in accordance with those views. Our responsibility to earn a competitive financial return on the retirement savings entrusted to us by 3.7 million participants obliges us to invest in a diverse line-up of companies across all sectors of the global economy."
Jewish Voice for Peace, TIAA - CREF and Caterpillar: The Newest BDS hoax?
Its beginning to look a lot like a BDS hoax- as ubiquitous as kitten pictures and porn on the web. All the signs were there from the very beginning. Sweeping proclamations from the anti-Israel lobby, spammed and tweeted with no confirmation from any neutral source, and no coverage in the mainstream media. The Forward briefly ran an article based on the JVP press release, quickly realized they'd been had, and quietly removed it. Oops.
From Divest This- the web's single most reliable site on BDS:
"To begin with, the story is not accompanied by any statement from TIAA-CREF itself that it has taken any action that could be described as political in nature. Which makes sense once you realize that CREF is still heavily invested in the company the boycotters are claiming as a divestment win (the long suffering Caterpillar Corporation).
In fact, if you dig a little deeper it looks like CREF did not make any politically related investment or divestment decision at all, but rather that one of its funds (one targeting social investors) was following the lead of an independent research firm (MSCI) which generates an index which many “Social Responsibility” investment funds use to determine what will and will not be included in their portfolios.
Now earlier this year, MSCI downgraded and eventually removed Caterpillar from their index, which means that CREF was just following along with a decision made by an independent researcher, not making a judgment regarding Caterpillar on its own (as reflected by the fact that other funds managed by CREF still hold millions in Caterpillar stock).
Which brings us to the question of why did MSCI (an organization none of us – including the BDSers – ever noticed or mentioned until just this week) made the decision they did regarding Caterpillar?
BDS press releases do a masterful job of claiming victory while never citing a single quote (or anything specific) that would indicate that this decision was based on their effort – or anything having to do with the Arab-Israeli conflict for that matter. (As usual, Jewish Voice for Peace goes to the furthest rhetorical extreme, claiming that TIAA CREF not only made a specific decision to divest from Israel, but did so in defiance of a US Congressman - with no evidence supporting either contention/invention, of course.)
Might MSCI have taken into account some of the faux controversy the BDSers themselves have generated in judging whether Caterpillar was in or out? Or might some of the union issues the company has been facing been a deciding factor?
We don’t know (but many of us are trying to find out). But given the total lack of evidence those touting the “BDS victory” narrative have produced, I think it’s safe to say that we’re looking at another situation where a business decision with no specifically known motivation is being sold by the boycotters as a result of their work. And given the boycotter’s track record for fraudulently trying to pass off similar stories in the past, I think it’s safe to ignore any BDS bombast until they can produce for us a quote from TIAA-CREF itself (the company they are claiming to have done the BDSers’ bidding) confirming the story."
In spite of JVP's laughable flash mobs and petitioning, TIAA CREF has held firm regarding divestment , stating in an open letter:
"While TIAA-CREF acknowledges participants’ varying views on Israeli and Palestinian policies and the Gaza Strip and West Bank, we are unable to alter our investment policy in accordance with those views. Our responsibility to earn a competitive financial return on the retirement savings entrusted to us by 3.7 million participants obliges us to invest in a diverse line-up of companies across all sectors of the global economy."
proisraelbaybloggers.blogspot.com/2012/06/jewish-voice-for-peace-tiaa-cref-an...
TIAA CREF - Another BDS Hoax?
by Divest this
Friday, Jun. 22, 2012 at 11:39 PM
We interrupt regular broadcasting with news of yet another potential BDS-related hoax.
Once more, a hoax tale seems to be centered on TIAA-CREF. If you recall, the boycotters were caught red-handed several years ago trying to pass off a generic business decision by the retirement giant as a response to their request to get the organization to divest from Israel.
Rather than simply act as though the whole incident never happened, the BDSers took the unusual step of launching a multi-year campaign to get TIAA-CREF to actually do what they had simply pretended they did the year before.
The response to date from CREF has been a series of polite “please piss off” messages. Which is why this recent announcement that their divestment campaign has borne fruit seems mighty suspicious indeed.
To begin with, the story is not accompanied by any statement from TIAA-CREF itself that it has taken any action that could be described as political in nature. Which makes sense once you realize that CREF is still heavily invested in the company the boycotters are claiming as a divestment win (the long suffering Caterpillar Corporation).
In fact, if you dig a little deeper it looks like CREF did not make any politically related investment or divestment decision at all, but rather that one of its funds (one targeting social investors) was following the lead of an independent research firm (MSCI) which generates an index which many “Social Responsibility” investment funds use to determine what will and will not be included in their portfolios.
Now earlier this year, MSCI downgraded and eventually removed Caterpillar from their index, which means that CREF was just following along with a decision made by an independent researcher, not making a judgment regarding Caterpillar on its own (as reflected by the fact that other funds managed by CREF still hold millions in Caterpillar stock).
Which brings us to the question of why did MSCI (an organization none of us – including the BDSers – ever noticed or mentioned until just this week) made the decision they did regarding Caterpillar?
BDS press releases do a masterful job of claiming victory while never citing a single quote (or anything specific) that would indicate that this decision was based on their effort – or anything having to do with the Arab-Israeli conflict for that matter. (As usual, Jewish Voice for Peace goes to the furthest rhetorical extreme, claiming that TIAA CREF not only made a specific decision to divest from Israel, but did so in defiance of a US Congressman - with no evidence supporting either contention/invention, of course.)
Might MSCI have taken into account some of the faux controversy the BDSers themselves have generated in judging whether Caterpillar was in or out? Or might some of the union issues the company has been facing been a deciding factor?
We don’t know (but many of us are trying to find out). But given the total lack of evidence those touting the “BDS victory” narrative have produced, I think it’s safe to say that we’re looking at another situation where a business decision with no specifically known motivation is being sold by the boycotters as a result of their work. And given the boycotter’s track record for fraudulently trying to pass off similar stories in the past, I think it’s safe to ignore any BDS bombast until they can produce for us a quote from TIAA-CREF itself (the company they are claiming to have done the BDSers’ bidding) confirming the story.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this move may represent a “long bomb” play by the boycotters in the run-up to next week’s PCUSA General Assembly, a hope that one story of BDS success or momentum might help put them over the top when the Presbyterians vote on divestment in the next couple of weeks. But if this turns out to be yet another BDS hoax, one wonders how that story will play out as the boycotters descend on Pittsburg in order to explain to the Presbyterians that following them is the only moral choice.
www.divestthis.com/2012/06/tiaa-cref-another-bds-hoax.html
Here We Go Again…BDS Movement Tells Lies and Creates Pretend ‘Victories’
by another BDS hoax
Saturday, Jun. 23, 2012 at 12:24 AM
The idea that TIAA-CREF had divested from Caterpillar because of that company’s sales to Israel simply a lie. Yesterday Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) groups trumpeted TIAA-CREF’s move as a ‘victory’ for their movement. In actuality, TIAA-CREF’s fund, which follows the MSCI Socially Responsible Investment index, removed Caterpillar because of a Canadian labor dispute.
“What about the facts?” asked Geri Palast, managing director of the Israel Action Network. “For one, Caterpillar doesn’t sell to Israel. Second, MSCI and TIAA-CREF’s actions have nothing to do with Israel, Palestinians or BDS. Yesterday’s press release just illustrates how far pro-BDS groups will go. They will not be encumbered by truth.”
“Pro-BDS groups have constructed the ‘Caterpillar Myth’ that insinuates a conflict between the machine and the Palestinian people. It is designed to invoke dystopian images, link BDS to specific Israeli policies and appeal to fear,” Palast continued. “The myth exposes the cynicism of the pro-BDS movement. Whether it be here or in places like the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment, facts are swept away to make room for ideology.”
“This movement is about delegitimization and hostility to Israel. There is nothing prophetic about falsities. There is nothing peaceful or productive about deliberate distortions. The Caterpillar myth and the TIAA-CREF lies underscore the motivations and hostility of the pro-BDS movement.”
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