Chicago, IL -- Motorola shareholders arriving at their annual shareholder meeting at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago on Monday, May 4, will be met by community members and human rights activists calling on Motorola to end its complicity in human rights abuses and violations of international law, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

This year's shareholder meeting will focus on more than just Motorola's falling profits. Protestors will hold signs and pass out informational flyers to passersby from 4-6pm, while inside the meeting itself, concerned shareholders led by representatives of the Presbyterian and United Methodist churches will be urging an affirmative vote on Proposal 9, a shareholder resolution calling for Motorola to explicitly adhere to principles of international law when doing business in Israel and around the world.

The protests outside of the meeting are organized in part by member groups of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation as part of their Hang Up On Motorola campaign. Hang Up on Motorola is a national call to boycott Motorola until the company ends its sales of communications and surveillance equipment to the Israeli military and illegal settlements. Motorola's material support perpetuates and legitimizes Israel's 42-year military occupation and colonizations of Palestinian land.

The campaign against Motorola isn't just making noise in Chicago, either. Groups around the country will be passing out information and calling for boycotts at Motorola retailers and corporate offices. The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel will be educating shoppers about a citywide boycott at five stores in New York City. Similar actions are planned in cities across the United States.

"The Israeli military has an established pattern of using Motorola products and services to violate the Geneva Conventions and rulings of the International Court of Justice," said Katherine Fuchs, National Organizer for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. "Shareholder proposal 9 is an important step in the process of holding Motorola accountable to standards of international law. We will continue our boycott until Motorola ends its support for the Israeli military occupation and illegal Jewish-only settlements."

Boycott organizers have recently been energized by Motorola's decision to sell its Israel-based Government Electronic Division (GED), which produced bomb fuses for the Israeli military. Human Rights Watch researchers found shrapnel with Motorola serial numbers on it at the site of a bomb blast at a civilian target after "Operation Cast Lead," Israel's recent assault on the Gaza Strip. The sale of Motorola's GED is only the most recent victory for Hang Up On Motorola. In February, Hampshire College divested from Motorola and five other corporations supporting Israeli military occupation and violations of international law.  In March, Radian Records, a NYC music production company, joined the Hang Up On Motorola boycott, certifying that they were no longer using Motorola equipment. This pressure on Motorola is part of a larger effort to promote accountability for companies profiting from Israel's military occupation. Activists, civil society organizations, and churches such as the Presbyterian and United Methodist, have joined forces to put pressure on these companies using the tools of boycott and divestment.

The US Campaign and its member organizations plan to continue pressuring Motorola by organizing boycott and divestment efforts in cities, campuses, and churches across the country.

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The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is a national coalition of more than 280 organizations working to change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine  to support human rights, international law, and equality for all Israelis and Palestinians.  For more information about the US Campaign, please click here.