One of the world’s largest auto makers — producing vehicles in 37 countries— has for the first time in its history been challenged on its fair employment in Israel/Palestine.

General Motors was presented with a shareholders Resolution at its annual meeting in Detroit, Michigan, on Tuesday, June 7 calling on the company to sign and implement the Holy Land

Principles— a corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Palestine/Israel, based on the very effective Mac Bride Principles for Northern Ireland.

The Holy Land Principles are pro-Jewish, pro-Palestinian and pro-company. (Fair employment by the company is not only morally right but makes good economic sense—good for the company, enhancing its reputation and making it more profitable for its investors.)

 The Principles do not call for quotas, reverse discrimination, divestment, disinvestment or boycotts. The Principles do not take any position on solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The Principles do not try to tell the Palestinians or the Israelis what to do.

The Holy Land Principles only call for fair employment by American companies in Palestine-Israel. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Holy Land Principles resolution received over 29 Million votes, 29,204,396 (3%), with 142,056,070 abstentions.

At the close of business on June 7, 2016, the share value of GM was $30.23. So the value of the share votes for HLP represented $882,848,891.08.

The value of abstentions was $4,294,354,996.10.

Therefore, the combined total money not supporting GM was over $ 5 Billion ($5,177,203,887.18), and, therefore, a total of 171,260,466 votes not supporting General Motors.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus — President of the Capitol Hill-based Holy Land Principles, Inc. and the Irish National Caucus, and who “moved” (presented) the Resolution, said : “ Another American company doing business in Israel/Palestine has now been “ resolution-ized”—for the very first time in its history General Motors has been faced with a Shareholder Resolution regarding fair employment in its operations in the Holy Land. The elephant in the (board) room has finally had to be acknowledged. Surely faith-based investors and those in the SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) community has to welcome such a development? And how could anyone with the slightest concern about environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria not support it?”

Fr. Mc Manus continued:“Anyone who gets up to speak in a boardroom about social justice  has to feel blessed, as I did,  by the presence of the Reverend Jesse Jackson. I had the honor of shaking his hand twice at the meeting and telling him I thought he would be interested in the Holy Land Principles. He replied, “I am interested.”

Fr.Mc Manus continued : “ I intend to follow up with  the Reverend Jackson. We would love to have his support for the Holy Land Principles, just as he supports the Mac Bride Principles.”

Holy Land Principles, Inc

Holy Land Principles, Inc

HOLY LAND PRINCIPLES,Inc., dedicated to getting the 545 American companies doing business in Palestine-Israel to sign the Holy Land Principles.

The Holy Land Principles are pro-Jewish, pro-Palestinian and pro-company.

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