WeeklySA_AdminCOMPLICITY: There are no limits to capitalism when it comes to making money, writes Prof Juan Torres Lopez…
By Juan Torres López
I’m sure many of the people who read my articles heard about it. Latest report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, published last June.
However, I want to return to activity after the summer break, echoing it for three important reasons. First, because we must continue to denounce and combat what I believe is a true crime against humanity, committed by Israel against the Palestinian people and with the complicity of the great powers that dominate the world.
Secondly, because this report points out and demonstrates something very important that must be made public: the genocide carried out by Israel is not only a crime in itself, due to its terrorist violence and inhuman cruelty, but also a bloody business for a large number of large corporations.
Finally, and certainly not least, I echo the report as a modest tribute to its author, an honorable and courageous person who is being persecuted, threatened, and harassed, without being able to prove that her judgments are erroneous, by the criminal governments of the United States and Israel, for whom money and power are above truth, shame, and peace.
The Report is based on the evidence that colonialism and genocide “have historically been driven and facilitated by the corporate sector” to dispossess peoples, and that is exactly what has happened with Israel’s strategy to colonize the Palestinian territories.
Specifically, it shows that large multinational corporations—arms manufacturers, technology companies, construction companies, extractive and service companies, banks, pension funds, insurance companies, and even universities and charities—allow “the denial of self-determination and occupation, annexation, and the crimes of apartheid and genocide, as well as a long list of related crimes and human rights violations, from discrimination, wanton destruction, forced displacement, and plunder to extrajudicial executions and famine.”
The report notes that they have profited and continue to profit from the occupation and genocide in various ways. These include providing weapons and equipment to destroy homes, schools, hospitals, markets, and other forms of housing; purchasing land to dispossess and displace the Palestinian population; providing surveillance equipment to segregate and control communities; stifling the Palestinian economy by turning it into a captive market; exploiting its labor and resources; and channeling funds into the illegal occupation; and providing information, data, intelligence, and financial services that enable Israel to carry out the occupation and genocide.
Other civil and religious organizations in various countries, including universities and major research centers such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), whose laboratories conduct weapons and surveillance research funded by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, also benefit from the occupation and support the genocide.
In fact, none of this is known for the first time. The United Nations had already presented it in 2020. a database with 112 companies who benefited from Israel’s illegal activity in the West Bank. The portal whoprofits.org provides, in addition to the list of these companies, reports on their specific area of activity.
And in dontbuyintooccupation.org The financial institutions that do business with occupation are identified, including the Spanish Banco de Santander, BBVA, Caixa and Banco de Sabadell.
The report has the courage, however, to denounce all of this at the most difficult moment, with reason, courage, and complete clarity: the genocide perpetrated by Israel continues, says Francesca Albanese, “because it is profitable for many.”
Their report concludes by stating: “Investors and public and private institutions are profiting profusely… Arms companies have made near-record profits equipping Israel with state-of-the-art weaponry that has devastated a virtually defenseless civilian population… The machinery of the global construction equipment giants has been instrumental in devastating Gaza, preventing the return and reconstruction of Palestinian life. Mining and extractive energy conglomerates, while providing civilian energy sources, have fueled Israel’s military and energy infrastructure, both of which are used to create living conditions calculated to destroy the Palestinian people… Agribusiness continues to underpin settlement expansion. The largest online tourism platforms continue to normalize the illegality of Israeli settlements. Global supermarkets continue to offer products from Israeli settlements. And universities around the world, under the guise of research neutrality, continue to profit from an economy now operating in genocidal mode.”
The voracious and unhealthy desire for profit, the boundless greed that drives today’s capitalism, and the enormous power being accumulated by the major arms, technology, and financial industries have created, as the International Criminal Court stated and Francesca Albanese’s report recalls, a “joint criminal enterprise” that shapes a “global economy that drives, fuels, and facilitates this genocide.” Today’s capitalism, the large corporations that govern it, their executives, and the politicians who defend and support them, are stained with the innocent blood of tens of thousands of human beings.
It’s not easy to make our voices heard and fight against all of this, but we cannot remain silent in the face of the condoned crimes and the infamy of the governments, businesses, and political and social leaders who, by action or inaction, are allowing a new and shameful holocaust in Palestine.
With this spirit of not remaining silent, a group of people of different political sensibilities and ideologies sent a letter a few days ago to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, urging her to act and not be complicit, either by action or omission, in the genocide. More than 800 signatures have already been collected.
I encourage you to do so (to do so, write to fcasero@fundacionsavia.org) or, even better, to take the same initiative and send another similar letter to people around you. You can read the one we sent by clicking here. – Globalter
* Juan Torres He is an economist and professor at the Department of Economic Analysis and Political Economy at the University of Seville (Spain). His latest book is For There to Be a Future: A Roadmap to Changing the World (2024)
Comment
UNITE AGAINST CRIME
The devastating impact of organized crime in Africa came under the spotlight at the three-day 27th African Interpol African Regional Conference in Cape Town last week where senior police chiefs from several African states deliberated on strategies and a unified stance to fight organized crime.
The conference, hosted by the South African Police Services, also heard shocking reports that amongst these crimes, ransomware detections in Africa rose tremendously with South Africa leading the pack with a record 17, 849 detections followed by Egypt with 12,281. Scam notifications rose up to 3000 percent in some African countries.
In their concerted efforts to combat cybercrimes, Interpol, together with a consortium of law enforcement agencies from 36 countries, embarked on Operation Serengeti 2,0 which resulted in the arrest of more than 1200 cyber criminals who had targeted 90 000 victims and the recovery of 97,4 million dollars during June and August this year. They also dismantled 11432 malicious infrastructures. Delegates at the conference stressed the importance of unity in fighting crime which remained one of the most serious treats to peace and stability across Africa and beyond. Tackling crime that included ransomware and financial crime, was essential to achieving long-term, sustainable development.
While delegates were debating new strategies to fight this scourge, South Africa’s Acting Police Minister, Firoz Cachalia, raised an important factor in helping the police to achieve their goals. Corruption within the police force seems to be a major obstacle following reports that certain members were colluding with organized criminal syndicates. This hindered the police in their efforts to fight crime. Cachalia called for the appointment of leaders with integrity within the police force.
The judicial system, especially in South Africa, should also play a major role. Prosecutors must try their utmost to secure convictions and presiding court officers must also mete out appropriate sentences to fit the crime. This will encourage the police in their duties to rid the country of criminals who were causing so much havoc and damage to the country. The police chiefs and experts at the conference also called for the building of strong cross-border partnerships and trust within their regional and global justice systems. They stressed that no single country can win this battle alone.
Threats posed by transnational organized crime required effective international police cooperation because crime syndicates also continued to plan and strike while they were becoming stronger and interconnected. Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohammed Amin, reminded delegates that the devastating impact of financial crimes was not just on economies but on the everyday lives of citizens.
‘’ When money is stolen through corruption or fraud, it is not just figures on a spreadsheet. It is schools not built, medicines not bought and dreams denied.’’ Indeed.
After three days of deliberating and forming strategies on how to fight crime, we hope the police chiefs would find definite plans to fight this scourge that has turned most of the world into a scary planet to live in. A place where animals are today safer than human beings.
That is unacceptable.
