Caterpillar--From Symbol Of Palestinian Victimhood To Palestinian Terrorism

Isabel Kershner, author of Barrier: The Seam of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict also reports for The New York Times. Reporting on yesterday's terrorist attack in Jerusalem, she concludes:

Caterpillar equipment has a special resonance among Palestinians. Human rights activists have lobbied the company to stop selling its heavy vehicles to the Israeli military out of concern that they have been used to demolish Palestinian homes, uproot orchards and construct Jewish settlements in occupied land.

In a post for Pajamas Media, Mike McNally of Monkey Tennis Centre responds

Israel has a policy of destroying the houses of suicide bombers and other terrorists as a deterrent, reasoning that even if a would-be martyr cares nothing for his own life, he might think twice about causing his family to be made homeless. It also uses earthmovers to demolish buildings used by terrorists as firing positions, to destroy booby-traps and to fill in tunnels used for smuggling weapons — although you wouldn’t learn any of that from the New York Times‘ report on yesterday’s attack.

And in response to the Kershner's reference to uprooting orchards:

Ah the orchards! What a masterstroke of evocation. Forget about the sniper nests and the tunnels used by terrorists to smuggle in their rockets and to kidnap and kill Israeli soldiers: think about the orange growers.

More to the point, McNally--like Kershner, notes terrorist Husam Dwayat's weapon of choice:

The front-loader with which Dwayat rammed several cars and buses before he was shot dead was a Caterpillar. Palestinian sympathizers and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have for several years been waging a campaign against the US construction equipment maker, on the grounds that it builds bulldozers which are used by the Israeli Defense Forces to demolish Palestinian homes.

In particular, McNally recalls that a Caterpillar bulldozer was involved in the death of Rachel Corrie, whom many claim was murdered by Israel while she was trying to protect Palestinian homes, while Israel points out that the driver--who was clearing out the Palestinian terrorist weapon infrastructure--was unable to see her.

The point is that Human Rights Watch and others have been busy since then trying to demonize Caterpillar and sue the company--even while the Palestinian Arabs have had no problem using Caterpillar bulldozers themselves, as McNally proves on his blog.

But the fact that Dwayat has effectively turned the Caterpillar bulldozer into a tool of Palestinian terrorism could pose a problem. McNally concludes:

And now that a Palestinian has used a Caterpillar machine to murder innocent Israelis, maybe someone ought to tell Human Rights Watch and the other organizations that have attempted to demonize the company.

Will they want to continue with their campaign if Caterpillar becomes a symbol of Palestinian terror, rather than of Palestinian victimhood?

Since there are no Palestinian terrorists in the eyes of their apologist, continuing that campaign may not be as difficult as it may seem.

Technorati Tag: Husam Dwayat.