Nine shareholder resolutions will come to a vote in 2016 on The Holy Land Principles - “an 8-point corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Israel-Palestine” according to a press release signed by the fiery Irish-American priest and preacher, Father Sean Mc Manus. He polished his proxy-proposing teeth on the Mac Bride Principles three decades ago, which called for fair employment policies in Northern Ireland, and on which the “Israel-Palestine” principles are modeled. “The Principles are pro-Jewish, pro-Palestinian and pro- company” Mc Manus asserts. “The Principles do not call for quotas, reverse discrimination, disinvestment or boycotts— only for fair employment by American  companies.”

But wow, the Principles have sure stirred up big fusses at the two meetings where they were introduced in 2015. “Shamefully” as the press release reports, “some extreme elements have maliciously attempted to misrepresent and demonize the Principles…At the [2015] Intel Annual Shareholder Meeting…two speakers planted in the audience,” according to the press release, “rose to their feet and declared Fr. Mc Manus’ speech to be an ‘anti-Semitic screed’”….Then at the Cisco 2015 meeting, “a man from the floor made a speech defending the State of Israel from its inception in 1948, and declared the Holy Land Principles to be ‘superfluous.’ He was followed by a lady from the floor, who described herself as being from a Socially Responsible Investment company [who] proceeded to make totally irresponsible and false statements…to charge that they are anti-Israel…[and] opposed by the United States Government.”

Eight of the nine 2016 Shareholder Resolutions filed - at Intel, Coca Cola, Pepsi, FedEx, UPS, GE, GM; and Mc Donald’s - ask the companies to sign the Principles. At Cisco, the 2016 Resolution calls on Cisco “to disclose the breakdown of its workforce there [Israel-Palestine] 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 (semi- skilled); 8. Laborers (unskilled); 9. Service workers.”

In the press release, Fr. Mc Manus, who is the President of Capitol Hill-based Holy Land Principles, Inc., and also of the Irish National Caucus, notes that there are 545 U.S. companies that do business in the Holy Land and said that “One cannot ask American companies doing business in the Holy Land a more elemental and existential question than, ‘Can you, as an American company, proudly and transparently stand behind you fair employment record in Palestine-Israel?’

Politics and religion! What a volatile mix for meeting discussion. The geo-political descriptors “Israel- Palestine” and “Palestine Israel” are likely to stir up a few arguments on their own, and to get blood pressures rising and tempers flaring…So at least nine companies are in for a rather bumpy meeting in 2016, to say the least.

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