On March 19, a group of more than 60 protesters demonstrated at the Hewlett-Packard shareholders' meeting because of its business dealings with the Israeli military. They said HP is complicit in oppressing Palestine because it makes the technology for biometric cards that contain large amounts of data on the card carrier. Those cards are used by Israel to segregate and discriminate against Palestinians.

While protesters sang and chanted loudly in front of the Santa Clara Convention Center, some members of the "Stop HP Coalition" inside the shareholders' meeting introduced a proposal calling for an in-depth look at HP's dealings with the Israeli military and its human rights abuses. Although the measure was defeated by 83%, speakers in favor of the proposal, including two Presbyterian (USA) ministers, pressed their case, forcing HP CEO Meg Whitman to acknowledge it; Whitman said that the company "will look into this."

Human rights activists who organized the day's events say the task ahead is to get HP to agree to keep their commitments to meet with the coalition and to look into the issues brought forward. The Coalition to Stop HP includes: The American Friends Service Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace: Bay Area, South Bay and Santa Cruz chapters, Global Exchange, UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine, Northern California Friends of Sabeel, and San Francisco Veterans for Peace.

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Jewish Voice for Peace | Friends of Sabeel | San Francisco Veterans for Peace | American Friends Service Committee