New Restriction 1: It is the City's policy not to invest in a predetermined list of companies and their subsidiaries that are involved in Israel's violations of Palestinian rights.
List of 10 Restricted Companies
1. Airbnb
Airbnb, a publicly traded American company operating an online vacation rental platform, lists accommodations in over 220 countries including properties in illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian and Syrian lands. These listings cover 39 settlements in the occupied West Bank and 6 neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, with most properties misleadingly labeled as located in "Israel" or "Jerusalem, Israel." Additionally, the platform includes listings in 15 settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan, also mislabeled as being in "Israel." This mislabeling contributes to violations of international law, as these areas are legally recognized as occupied territories.
2. Caterpillar Inc. and Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation A U.S.-based multinational manufacturer that provides construction machinery to the Israeli military, including the Caterpillar D9 bulldozer. These machines are used in Palestinian home demolitions, building illegal settlements, erecting border walls and checkpoints, and in military operations against Palestinians. The Caterpillar D9 is notably employed in the "Pressure Cooker" tactic, wherein structures are demolished with individuals inside during Israeli military operations in the West Bank and Gaza.
3. Cisco
A US-publicly traded tech giant, which designs and sells technologies that power the internet. The Company integrates platforms across networking, security, collaboration, applications and the cloud. Cisco Systems has been actively involved in various projects with the Israeli military, integrating advanced technology and communication systems.
Since March 2020, Cisco has been deploying the Unified Communication "David's Citadel" systems to centralize the transfer of data, video, and voice across different military units. In the civilian sector, Cisco's technology underpins the creation of multiple technological hubs across Israel, including in the Naqab and occupied territories, with some hubs located in Palestinian towns and others in areas undergoing Israeli settlement expansion. Furthermore, Cisco has contributed to enhancing surveillance capabilities in Jerusalem in 2017.
4. Dell
An American multinational technology company. Dell's products include personal computers, servers, smartphones, televisions, computer software, computer security and network security, as well as information security services. In 2023, Dell Technologies secured a significant contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, valued at over USD 150 million, to supply servers and related services for two years to various Israeli security bodies, funded by US foreign aid. Additionally, Dell's subsidiary VMware has been integral in providing virtualization systems to the Israeli military since 2003, enhancing data center capabilities across multiple military units, with significant contracts signed in 2013 and 2016. In the civilian sector, VMware won a tender in 2021 to supply the Israel Police with virtualization products and maintenance services until 2027.
Furthermore, VMware technology supports critical surveillance infrastructures in East Jerusalem, notably in the Technological Control Center "Mabat, facilitating extensive monitoring capabilities through a network of about 400 CCTV cameras.
5. First Solar Inc
A US-based global provider of solar based energy equipment. The company designs, manufactures and sells Photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. The company has three factories based in the USA, Malaysia and Vietnam. First Solar has provided solar panels to a solar farm located in Kalia, an Israeli illegal settlement in the occupied Jordan Valley.
All the solar panels at Kalia, about 104,000, were manufactured by First Solar.
Established in 2015 by a partnership between the Kalia settlement and Israeli company Clal Industries, the solar farm takes up 33 acres of occupied Palestinian land. First Solar has also provided 40,000 solar panels to Israel's biggest solar farm, located in Ramat Hovav Industrial Zone, in the Naqab desert.
6. Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells computer components and related products. The company is expanding its operations in Israel with a $25 billion chip-making factory in the country's south, heralded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's largest-ever investment. This factory will augment Intel's existing facility at Kiryat Gat, located about 16 miles northeast of Gaza.
7. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
IBM, one of the largest IT companies globally and a major contractor for U.S. immigration authorities, operates the central database for Israel's Population, Immigration, and Borders Authority. This database includes the biometric population registry, which logs the ethnic and religious identities of citizens and non-citizens in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Such details are also recorded on mandatory government-issued ID cards. As part of Israel's "digital acceleration" initiative under Resolution No. 260, IBM, in collaboration with Elbit Systems, has secured multiple contracts to digitize services and enhance data storage for the Israeli Borders Authority.
These technologies also support the Israeli military through its subsidiary company, Red Hat Israel.
8. Microsoft Corporation
An American multinational technology corporation. One of the world's largest IT companies, developing software products, services and devices. Microsoft has developed a significant presence in Israel, particularly in the tech and defense sectors.
Their involvement includes a vast array of services provided to various Israeli institutions, including the military, government, and educational sectors. Notably, Microsoft Israel is set to open a major Cloud Datacenter Region in Israel in 2023, marking a significant investment and becoming the first such facility by a global cloud provider in the country. Additionally, Microsoft supports the Israeli military and government through various technologies and services, including the "Al Munaseq" app used by the Israeli Civil Administration in the occupied West Bank, augmented reality training via Microsoft Hololens, and extensive software and cloud services agreements.
9. Motorola Solutions
A US-based communications and surveillance company, renowned as a leading supplier of license plate recognition software, sells surveillance products to U.S. prisons, US-Mexico Border security, and various U.S. police agencies. Additionally, its equipment is utilized in illegal settlements and the separation wall in the West Bank, supporting the Israeli military, police, and prison service (IPS). In March 2022, Motorola Solutions Israel was granted a contract to maintain the IPS wireless system until 2025. Due to its operations in illegal settlements, Motorola Solutions was listed in the 2020 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights database of companies involved in Israel's illegal settlements industry. In the past, they have manufactured bomb fuses for IDF bombs.
10. Wix.com
An Israel-based website-building platform headquartered in Tel Aviv that offers users the ability to create websites with its online drag-and-drop tools and enjoys a substantial global user base. Close to Wix's headquarters, located near the Tel Aviv port, are Palestinian communities that suffer from limited or no internet access and are restricted from visiting nearby beaches. Additionally, Wix faced controversy in Dublin when it dismissed an employee who criticized Israel on her personal social media account. Wix also directed its staff to create content supporting Israel's perspective during the Israel genocide, as revealed by leaked internal communications.