Norway wealth fund divests from Caterpillar over Gaza 'rights violations'
Oslo (AFP) – Norway's sovereign wealth fund said Monday that it had divested from US construction equipment firm Caterpillar over purported involvement in rights violations in the Israel-Hamas war.
Issued on: 26/08/2025 - RFI
Oslo (AFP) – Norway's sovereign wealth fund said Monday that it had divested from US construction equipment firm Caterpillar over purported involvement in rights violations in the Israel-Hamas war.
Issued on: 26/08/2025 - RFI
An Israeli military bulldozer demolishes a home at the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the Israeli occupied West Bank on June 23, 2025 © Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP/File
Fuelled by Norway's vast energy revenues, the fund is the world's biggest, with a value of nearly $2 trillion and investments in more than 8,600 companies across the globe.
The fund had held a 1.2 percent stake in Caterpillar, valued at 24.4 billion krone ($2.4 billion), as of the end of last year.
The Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said it had decided to exclude Caterpillar as it posed "an unacceptable risk... to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict".
The fund said it had based its decision on a recommendation by its council on ethics.
In a statement, the council said that "bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar are being used by Israeli authorities in the widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property".
"There is no doubt that Caterpillar's products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law," the body said.
It added that the company had "not implemented any measures to prevent such use".
AFP has contacted Caterpillar for comment.
The fund said it had also withdrawn from five Israeli firms for financing the construction of illegal settlements in the Israel-occupied West Bank.
They included First International Bank of Israel, FIBI Holdings, Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Mizrahi Tefahot and Bank Hapoalim.
Earlier this month, the fund said it was selling out of 11 Israeli companies following reports that it had invested in an Israeli jet engine maker even as the war in Gaza raged.
The revelations led Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to ask Finance Minister and former NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg for a review.
© 2025 AFP
Hundreds of filmmakers urge Venice Film Festival to take a stronger stand on GazaFuelled by Norway's vast energy revenues, the fund is the world's biggest, with a value of nearly $2 trillion and investments in more than 8,600 companies across the globe.
The fund had held a 1.2 percent stake in Caterpillar, valued at 24.4 billion krone ($2.4 billion), as of the end of last year.
The Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said it had decided to exclude Caterpillar as it posed "an unacceptable risk... to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict".
The fund said it had based its decision on a recommendation by its council on ethics.
In a statement, the council said that "bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar are being used by Israeli authorities in the widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property".
"There is no doubt that Caterpillar's products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law," the body said.
It added that the company had "not implemented any measures to prevent such use".
AFP has contacted Caterpillar for comment.
The fund said it had also withdrawn from five Israeli firms for financing the construction of illegal settlements in the Israel-occupied West Bank.
They included First International Bank of Israel, FIBI Holdings, Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Mizrahi Tefahot and Bank Hapoalim.
Earlier this month, the fund said it was selling out of 11 Israeli companies following reports that it had invested in an Israeli jet engine maker even as the war in Gaza raged.
The revelations led Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to ask Finance Minister and former NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg for a review.
© 2025 AFP
Copyright AP Photo
By David Mouriquand
Published on 25/08/2025
A group of international filmmakers are urging the Venice Film Festival, which starts this week, “to be more courageous and clear in condemning the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
The 82nd Venice Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday and both Italian and international filmmakers have called on the festival to condemn what they describe in an open letter as genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
The appeal, under the banner of Venice4Palestine, was sent to the Venice Film Festival's umbrella organisation the Biennale di Venezia, as well as the festival's Venice Days and International Critics’ Week sections.
The group urges the festival to avoid becoming “a sad and empty showcase”. To be better, the group asks the festival to take a “clear and unambiguous stand”, to provide “a place of dialogue, active participation, and resistance, as it has been in the past” and highlight Palestinian narratives to better address “ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, colonialism and all the other crimes against humanity committed by Israel for decades, not just since October 7.”
Signatories include Italian actor Toni Servillo, Italian actress and director siblings Alba and Alice Rohrwacher, French directors Céline Sciamma and Audrey Diwan (who won the Golden Lion for Happening in 2021), British filmmaker Ken Loach (who won the Honorary Golden Lion in 1994) and British actor Charles Dance, as well as Palestinian directorial duo Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser - who won best director in Cannes Un Certain Regard this year for their film Once Upon A Time In Gaza.
Audrey Diwan with the Golden Lion in 2021 AP Photo
In the letter, they write: “As the spotlight turns on the Venice Film Festival, we’re in danger of going through yet another major event that remains indifferent to this human, civil, and political tragedy. ‘The show must go on,’ we are told, as we’re urged to look away - as if the ‘film world’ had nothing to do with the ‘real world.'”
“We must interrupt the flow of indifference and open a path to awareness,” they add, stating that “there is no cinema without humanity.”
The letter concludes: “Let us ensure that this Mostra has meaningful values and does not turn into a sad and shallow vanity fair once more. Let’s do it all together – with courage, with integrity. Free Palestine!”
In the letter, they write: “As the spotlight turns on the Venice Film Festival, we’re in danger of going through yet another major event that remains indifferent to this human, civil, and political tragedy. ‘The show must go on,’ we are told, as we’re urged to look away - as if the ‘film world’ had nothing to do with the ‘real world.'”
“We must interrupt the flow of indifference and open a path to awareness,” they add, stating that “there is no cinema without humanity.”
The letter concludes: “Let us ensure that this Mostra has meaningful values and does not turn into a sad and shallow vanity fair once more. Let’s do it all together – with courage, with integrity. Free Palestine!”
Ken Loach AP Photo
The Biennale was quick with their response, saying they and the Venice Film Festival “have always been, throughout their history, places of open discussion and sensitivity to all the most pressing issues facing society and the world.”
They cite as evidence “the works that are being presented”, citing the case of the film The Voice of Hind Rajab by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, which is in competition this year and centres on the killing of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl in a car that had been attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024.
In its statement, the Biennale further noted that last year’s Venice line-up featured Israeli director Dani Rosenberg’s film Of Dogs and Men shot in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“The Biennale is, as always, open to dialogue,” the statement concluded.
Both statements from Venice4Palestine and the Biennale come as the global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, announced last week that people in the Gaza Strip are officially facing “a man-made” famine in the territory – despite what the Israeli government has said.
The statements also come prior to the upcoming United Nations meeting in September, with many nations including Britain, France and Canada saying that they are preparing to officially recognize a state of Palestine.
The 82nd Venice International Film Festival runs from 27 August to 6 September.
The Biennale was quick with their response, saying they and the Venice Film Festival “have always been, throughout their history, places of open discussion and sensitivity to all the most pressing issues facing society and the world.”
They cite as evidence “the works that are being presented”, citing the case of the film The Voice of Hind Rajab by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, which is in competition this year and centres on the killing of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl in a car that had been attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024.
In its statement, the Biennale further noted that last year’s Venice line-up featured Israeli director Dani Rosenberg’s film Of Dogs and Men shot in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“The Biennale is, as always, open to dialogue,” the statement concluded.
Both statements from Venice4Palestine and the Biennale come as the global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, announced last week that people in the Gaza Strip are officially facing “a man-made” famine in the territory – despite what the Israeli government has said.
The statements also come prior to the upcoming United Nations meeting in September, with many nations including Britain, France and Canada saying that they are preparing to officially recognize a state of Palestine.
The 82nd Venice International Film Festival runs from 27 August to 6 September.
No comments:
Post a Comment