The largest private sector employer in Israel/Palestine continues to be held accountable for its employment practices by shareholders’ Resolutions.

Since Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Intel has invested $10.8 billion in plants and development centers in Israel, and received $1.5 billion in related grants (Reuters, September 22, 2014).  Israel’s Finance Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement “Intel’s investment is a strategic asset for Israel’s industry…. This is the biggest investment by a foreign company ever in Israel…”

For the second year, on May 19 (in its first “virtually only” meeting) Intel was faced with a Resolution to sign 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. 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.

The  Holy Land Principles resolution received over 100 million votes, 103,321,479, (3%), with 565,180,831 abstentions.

At the close of business on May 19, 2016, the share value of Intel was $29.63. So the value of the share votes for HLP represented $3,061,415,422.77. The value of abstentions was $16,746,308,022.50.

Therefore, the combined total money not supporting Intel was over $19 billion ($19,807,723,445.27) and, therefore, a total of 668,502,310 votes not supporting Intel. 

Fr. Mc Manus— President of the Capitol Hill-based Holy Land Principles, Inc. and Irish National Caucus—said: “Intel now knows this issue is not going to go away. It is the existential issue for all the 545 American companies doing business in the Holy Land — it was incredibly ignored for so many years… the elephant in the (board) room. Next year we will file a new Resolution calling on GE —at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information—to disclose the breakdown of its workforce in Palestine-Israel using the nine job categories which are utilized in the U.S. Department of Labor’s EEO -1 Report (Equal Employment Opportunity): 1.Officials and managers; 2. Professionals; 3. Technicians; 4. Sales; 5. Office and clerical; 6. Craft Workers (skilled); 7. Operatives (semiskilled); 8. Laborers (unskilled); 9. Service workers.”

Fr. Mc Manus concluded: “Asking for such a breakdown is eminently reasonable, makes total sense and is easily done. It’s consistent with the Ruggie Principles and ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) issues. What company could possibly object to this? And who in the SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) or faith-based community could oppose it? The Holy Land Principles is an idea whose time (after inexcusable neglect) has come… And nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”

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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