{"id":110935,"date":"2021-04-07T14:46:49","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T14:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1264602"},"modified":"2021-04-07T14:46:49","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T14:46:49","slug":"childrens-charity-under-pressure-for-accepting-jcbs-dirty-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/04\/07\/childrens-charity-under-pressure-for-accepting-jcbs-dirty-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s charity under pressure for accepting JCB\u2019s \u2018dirty money\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
This article was updated on 7 April at 17:15 to add a new comment from the NSPCC<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Campaigners are calling on the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to stop accepting money from British construction company JCB<\/a>.<\/p>\n JCB manufactures bulldozers used by the Israeli army to demolish Palestinian homes. The company is currently being investigated<\/a> by a UK government body over whether it’s in breach of human rights guidelines.<\/p>\n Demolitions of Palestinian homes and property are part of the Israeli state\u2019s colonisation<\/a> policy in Palestine, and are illegal<\/a> under international law.<\/p>\n New research by Shoal Collective<\/em> shows that at least<\/em> 160 children<\/a> were made homeless by demolitions carried out by Israeli forces using JCB equipment during 2020. The research also found that JCB bulldozers were used to displace at least 278 people in total last year. JCB machinery was also used to destroy a Palestinian graveyard and to demolish a staircase leading to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, the third most holy<\/a> site in the world for Muslims. Finally, JCB bulldozers were used in the demolition of the Bedouin village of Khirbet al-Humsa<\/span>, reportedly Israel\u2019s largest<\/a> demolition in the West Bank for a decade. The village has since been bulldozed a further three<\/a> times.<\/p>\n The Canary <\/em>contacted JCB and asked if the company wanted to comment on the new research carried out by Shoal Collective<\/em>. We had not received a reply at the time of publication.<\/p>\n On Tuesday 6 April, campaigners handed in a petition of 1,800 signatures to NSPCC’s offices in London calling on the charity to sever ties with JCB. Children’s charity NSPCC has accepted<\/a> at least \u00a35m from JCB over the years.<\/p>\n According to Ann Wright, one of the campaigners:<\/p>\n The NSPCC was founded to prevent cruelty to children but it takes money from JCB which derives profits from inflicting cruelty on Palestinian children \u2013 it doesn’t make sense.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nPetition to NSPCC<\/h5>\n