SEC GIVES HOLY LAND PRINCIPLES TRIPLE WIN

Posted By: February 16, 2015

Rules Intel, GE, and Corning Cannot Exclude Resolution

CAPITOL HILL. Sunday, February 15, 2015. As announced previously, the SEC ( Security and Exchange Commission) ruled that Intel could not exclude the Holy Land Principles shareholder resolution from  its 2015 Proxy Material .
It also transpires that the SEC ruled that GE (February 10) and Corning (February 11) cannot exclude the Holy Land Principles resolution.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus— President of the Capitol Hill-based Holy Land Principles, Inc.— said: “This is a splendid triple-win for the Holy Land Principles. Both Intel and GE hired one of the top law firms in the United States to block our Resolution, yet they failed, as did Corning. Another important thing to note here is this: this is the first time a U.S. government agency has made such a ruling regarding American companies doing business in Palestine-Israel. It is, therefore, a precedent setting decision.”

Fr. Mc Manus continued to explain: “Now, of course, we still have to win the vote at the Annual Shareholder Meetings: GE—Annual Meeting, April 22; Corning—Annual Meeting, April 29; and Intel—Annual Meeting, May 21, 2015. We appeal to all fair -minded investors to vote for our Resolution. The Holy Land Principles are eminently fair, just and reasonable. The Holy Land Principles are pro-Jewish, pro-Palestinian and pro-company. Therefore, no American company should fail to sign the Holy Land Principles, which are based on our Mac Bride Principles (for Northern Ireland). At first the companies strongly resisted signing the Mac Bride Principles but fairness and decency prevailed: eventually 116 companies signed Mac Bride. Can companies now argue that Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland deserved these Principles, but Palestinian Christians and Palestinian Muslim do not? I do not believe investors, stakeholders and other Americans of conscience could accept that. Good Americans want American principles to follow American investment in Northern Ireland, Palestine-Israel, and everywhere. It’s the American way.”

Fr. Mc Manus concluded: “ Many of the 545 American companies doing business in Palestine-Israel claim to endorse to the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPBHR), also known as the Ruggie Principles. They can best demonstrate the sincerity of their claim by signing and implementing the Holy Land Principles.”
Barbara Flaherty, Vice President of the Holy Land Principles, Inc., expressed her satisfaction at the progress in the campaign: “ After all the hard work, it is most gratifying to have the SEC rule in our favor. We can now take our Principles directly to the shareholders.”
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