Sunday, July 25, 2010

No Nukes for Iran Teens Organize Protest Against Honeywell Corporation


Honeywell protesters: 

Drop business in Iran

Teens spearhead rally at technology

 giant’s Morristown offices

About 60 people gathered at Honeywell headquarters in Morristown to “shame” the company into stopping its business in Iran.+ enlarge image
About 60 people gathered at Honeywell headquarters in Morristown to “shame” the company into stopping its business in Iran.
+ more images
ADVERTISEMENT
About 60 people gathered at the Morristown headquarters of the Honeywell Corporation on June 21, hoping to shame the technology giant into ending its business in Iran.
Protesters waved placards and shouted, “Honeywell, get out of Iran, now!” Some cars driving by on Columbia Turnpike tooted their horns in support.
The protest was organized by No Nukes for Iran, an organization founded by a group of local teenagers and cosponsored by United Against a Nuclear Iran.
“We have launched a national movement that is determined to protect the very nature of world peace,” Danielle Flaum, an incoming senior at Millburn High School who spearheaded the rally, announced to the gathering. “We need to use all our resources to stop companies from doing business 
with Iran. The time is now!”
Honeywell has been targeted because it is the only company with headquarters in New Jersey doing business in Iran, according to David Ibsen, coalitions director for UANI, which maintains a database of about 250 businesses operating in Iran.
There are “about five or six” other companies on the list that do extensive business in the state that he said might be targeted, including Lukoil.
Honeywell has a subsidiary, Universal Oil Products, that is engaged in expanding and upgrading the Arak refinery in Iran. It also receives $12.6 billion in subsidies from the United States federal government.
It may have been the first time a local company
 has been directly confronted about its business in Iran.
The rally was supported by the Community Relations
 Committee of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest 
New Jersey, the Jewish Community Relations Council of 
the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey,
 American Jewish Committee, and StandWithUs.
“Hopefully if enough people turn out to rally against them,
 the tides will start to turn and people will stop looking to 
Honeywell as such a great corporation,” Flaum told NJJN
 before the rally.
Melanie Gorelick, MetroWest CRC associate director, called
 Iran the organization’s “number one issue.” The CRC is 
urging Congress to impose sanctions on companies doing
 business in Iran through their subsidiaries and is urging 
businesses with a presence in New Jersey to divest from Iran.
Jim Daniels, chair of the MetroWest CRC’s 
Stop Iran Now Coalition, called Iran’s pursuit of nuclear 
weapons “a grave and growing national security threat.”
“Ahmadinejad’s access to nuclear weaponry and his ever 
expanding support of terror groups around the world…cannot
 be ignored,” said Daniels. “A nuclear Iran will change the
 balance of power, in the world, as we know it.”
In a letter addressed to David Cote, chairman and CEO
 of Honeywell, Flaum, on behalf of No Nukes for Iran, urged 
him to end its business dealings with Iran. The letter requests 
a meeting with Honeywell. So far, she has not received a response.
When questioned about Flaum’s letter, Honeywell spokesperson
 Robert Ferris wrote in an e-mail toNJJN, “We always reply to letters.”
He also provided a statement in response to other questions
 from NJJN: “Honeywell is compliant with all U.S. laws and 
with all laws in every country where we operate. We have
 committed to accept no new assignments in Iran in anticipation
 of a change in U.S. law, but are legally obligated to complete 
work under current contract. Should U.S. law change and prevent 
the company from fulfilling its contractual obligations, we will fully
 comply.”
Protesters came to the rally from around New Jersey. They were
 joined by a group from an evangelical church in upstate New York 
with ties to the MetroWest CRC.
Rabbi Dr. Eric Lankin, chief of institutional advancement and 
education at Jewish National Fund and a resident of Highland Park,
 said he and his 14-year-old son Ben attended the rally as private citizens.
“We Jews remember quite well that it was the rallies that we had
 in cities across the world that brought down the Soviet Union and
 freed a million Soviet Jews,” he said. “We want to start a
 movement not only in our area but in areas all over the country
 where there are companies doing business with Iran.”
Larry Slavin of Rockaway attended the rally with his wife, Helen. 
“It’s important for every American to fight against Iran getting 
nuclear weapons,” he said. “It’s bad for the whole world.”
For others, like Evelyn Shaw of Scotch Plains, the campaign 
has a specifically Jewish component.
“The Jewish community didn’t believe what Hitler said, and the
 Americans didn’t believe what Hitler said. But he was serious,” Shaw said.
 “And Ahmadinejad is serious, and we should believe what he says. That’s
 why I’m here today: to do everything that I can in my power to stop the 
nuclear threat that Iran represents to Israel and to the world.”
Ferne Hassan, associate director of American Jewish Committee’s NJ Area, 
urged Honeywell stockholders to look beyond their wallets.
“I think stockholders would respect that the stock may not make as
 much for them — but what will they be spending their money on if 
we’re all blown to smithereens?” she said.

Danielle Flaum, a rising senior at Millburn High School, addressed the crowd. The protest was organized by No Nukes for Iran, a teen group she founded.Larry and Helen Slavin of Rockaway attended the rally because, as Larry put it, a nuclear Iran “is bad for the whole world.”

No comments:

Post a Comment