what happened was extraordinary.
Dear Tao,
Wow!
I'm
writing you from New York City where I just got back from the TIAA-CREF
annual meeting and I'm still a bit overwhelmed by the experience.
I
can't tell you what it meant to have each one of you there with us in
the room. 15,300 of you to be exact. Each of you signed a petition or a
postcard, or secured hundreds of postcards in your own community. And
you know what? That made all the difference --- to us, and to the
leadership of TIAA-CREF.
Yesterday we finally got a chance to
call on TIAA-CREF, in person, to divest from companies like Caterpillar
and Elbit that profit from Israel's occupation. As a fellow activist in
the room said, "This was a real breakthrough today." I couldn't agree
more.
At the meeting, those who have retirement accounts with the
company can stand up and speak. We had a designated speaker delivering
the postcards to TIAA-CREF management, and we knew a few other people,
mostly professors and teachers, would get up and ask that their money
not be invested in companies that profit from discrimination, death, and
destruction, and push hope and peace ever further away.
But what
happened was extraordinary. First 5, then 10, then 14 people, then more
got up, one after another, to speak from the heart about why TIAA CREF
must not profit from Israel's occupation. These people weren't just JVP
members, but included TIAA-CREF shareholders attending the meeting for
entirely different reasons, who were spontaneously moved to speak in
support of our campaign.
Not a single person spoke to defend
Israel's occupation. Not one. But we all know that will change, which is
why we need you now to help us grow the 15,300 to 25,000 and then
50,000.
But yesterday, our voice for justice, for full equality,
for a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, dominated the
room. So many inspiring and courageous JVP activists stood up to say how
TIAA-CREF was fueling death and destruction by literally investing in
it. To implore TIAA-CREF to find a new way.
During the meeting,
we had the honor of delivering our many stacks of petitions and
postcards directly to the Chief Financial Officer, and could feel the
energy in the room change as the TIAA-CREF executives saw how many
people we were representing. The CEO of TIAA-CREF announced they would
be meeting with our campaign team tomorrow, and I knew they were taking
us seriously.
It was impossible for anyone in that room to not
have been affected by what they saw and heard. Just imagine - hours of
statements about the Israeli occupation were made in the boardroom of
one of the largest financial services companies in the world.The
executive managers and board members present listened attentively,
respectfully.
We know the struggle will be long to actually get
TIAA-CREF to divest, but this is just the beginning. Our story is
already spreading across the world, with media coverage in US News and
Report, Inside Higher Ed, Israel's Ha'aretz, Tablet and the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency.
You've made all of this possible, and we plan
on bringing you with us every step of the way. Please add more voices
to yours! We are already having an impact at 15,300 but want to grow to
50,000. Please tell your friends today.
Thank you. I wish we
could have videotaped the statements of every person in that room-I
promise you, you would have been moved and inspired. But none of us who
were there will ever forget it.
Onward,
Aaron Levitt
Jewish Voice for Peace
P.S.
At yesterday's meeting, TIAA-CREF's corporate leadership announced they
would be meeting directly with Jewish Voice for Peace this morning, and
so they did. This is a very exciting step--and it's also just the
beginning. We still need you to help us get more signatures, especially
from TIAA-CREF participants who are predominantly professors, teachers,
medical and nonprofit workers.
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