For Leading U.S. Brand, One Moment, One Image For The World To See Reinforces For Muslims U.S. Connectivity With Palestinian Deaths. A 12.3 Metric Ton Grave Digger. Will There Be A Boycott?
For Leading U.S. Brand, One Moment, One Image For The World To See Reinforces For Muslims U.S. Connectivity With Palestinian Deaths
12.3 Metric Ton Grave Digger
When One Image Encapsulates The Narrow Distance Between Useful And Hatred.
An Iconic American Brand Within Meters Of Palestinian Death.
Images Matter... Like Metal Rusting They Reflect Corrosion.
On any other day, marketing executives employed by Irving, Texas-based Caterpillar, Inc. (2022 revenue US$59.4 billion) would take pleasure from a large front section image published in The New York Times (11/23/23) of a CAT 936F Wheel Loader in operation under a sunny sky.
Yesterday was not one of those days. This was a worst nightmare scenario coming true for a company whose iconic yellow paint has become synonymous with heavy industry worldwide, and for its role in projecting United States branding.
The image published for the world to view, to absorb, was of a CAT 936F Wheel Loader used to move dirt to cover approximately twenty blue body bags of diverse sizes. In essence, a 12.3 metric ton grave digger.
Those body bags contained corpses, souls, of residents of Gaza. They were Palestinian. They were Muslim. They are now also statistics.
When competitors to Caterpillar visit potential purchasers located in Muslim majority populated countries which have Muslim heads of state and/or heads of government, those competitors will remind- delicately or perhaps robustly, how, according to the company, “the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives” and by extension the United States government, treated Muslims- and did so for the world to see. A boycott of Caterpillar must not be discounted.
What happened within territory occupied by the State of Israel on 7 October 2023 was awful. For many connected to the approximately 1,200 who were murdered, what has transpired since in Gaza (Palestinian territory) with perhaps more than 14,000 murdered- including a high number of children and women, those deaths are neither an occasion nor series of occasions to mourn. For some Palestinians residing in Gaza and in the West Bank (Palestinian territory), 7 October 2023 was a reckoning for Jews for their decades-long treatment of Muslims. There is no winning, only degrees of acceptable losing.
For the Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ), the imagery continues to worsen in terms of how it and the United States and citizens of the United States are perceived by the global Muslim community.
The White House has now engaged in two consequential proxy wars, both of which are unlikely to result in achieving in totality the goals and objectives of the governments to which commercial, economic, financial, humanitarian, military, and political support has been afforded.
The first commenced on 24 February 2022 on behalf of the government of Ukraine when the armed forces of the Russian Federation invaded and invaded further into the internationally-recognized territory of Ukraine.
The second commenced on 7 October 2023 on behalf of the government of the State of Israel when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were instructed to invade the self-governing territory of Gaza in response to the deaths of approximately 1,400 residents and visitors within the self-defined territory of the State of Israel.
In each proxy war, weapons sourced from or with approval by the United States government, directly or indirectly, have killed the intended targets. Those weapons have also killed civilians and damaged and destroyed civilian infrastructure. And in each there have been- and will continue to be consequences for global engagement by the United States government and for United States-based companies.
Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population. Approximately 12.7% of the world’s Muslim population resides in Indonesia. The Indonesian Hospital in Gaza has been damaged multiple times by weapons controlled by the IDF; there have been injuries and deaths. From Wikipedia: “Construction of the hospital began in 2011 on 16,000 square meters of land donated by the government of Gaza. The project cost IDR 126 billion [US$8.1 million] and was funded by donations from Indonesian people and organizations such as the Indonesian Red Cross Society and Muhammadiyah, collected through the Indonesian humanitarian organization Medical Emergency Rescue Committee. Indonesian Vice-president Jusuf Kalla inaugurated the hospital on January 9, 2016. The hospital has 100 ward beds, 4 operating theaters, and a 10-bed intensive care unit. The staff includes some 400 Palestinians, paid by Gaza's health ministry, and several volunteers from Indonesia.”
Then there is a video from this week of Stuart Seldowitz, who is Jewish, berating a man with “I’m gonna put big signs here that say ‘This guy believes in Hamas,’” “You’re a terrorist, you support terrorism,” and, “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what, it wasn’t enough.” He was arrested in New York City this week. Mr. Seldowitz was an Acting Director for the National Security Council (NSC) at The White House during the Obama-Biden Administration (2009-2017) and prior was a Deputy Director/Senior Political Officer in the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs at the United States Department of State.
The use of the word “we” by Mr. Seldowitz is informative as it reinforces his belief that he is first a Jew regardless of citizenship or residency. This has importance because often when asked what is more important- a person’s citizenship and nationality or their religion, the answer is their religion for it shapes their being, their soul… and often their political perspective.
“I respect the rule of law,” he said, “but I also genuinely love all people regardless of their lifestyle choices… I am a Bible-believing Christian – someone asked me today… people are curious, ‘What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the Sun?’ I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it, that’s my worldview – that’s what I believe.’” Mike Johnson (R- 4th District, Louisiana), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
There are four members of the Biden-Harris Administration Cabinet who identify as of the Jewish faith: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of National Intelligence. The husband of Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (2021- ), identifies as of the Jewish faith and is the official global outreach designee to the Jewish community for the Biden-Harris Administration.
The New York Times- 23 November 2023
The New York Times- 26 November 2023