Norway’s sovereign wealth fund announced on Monday that it had divested from the American construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar over Israel’s use of the company’s bulldozers in Judea and Samaria and Gaza.
With assets totaling nearly $2 trillion in 2025, the Oslo-based fund is the largest of its kind in the world. While it has already excluded more than 20 Israeli companies this year over alleged violations of international law in Jerusalem’s fight against Palestinian terrorism, this marks the first big U.S. company added to the list.
The fund also divested from five Israeli banks—First International Bank of Israel, Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, Fibi Holdings and Bank Hapoalim. They are accused of financing construction activities “that contribute to the maintenance of Israeli settlements.”
The six exclusions represent nearly $3 billion total value.
“There is no doubt that Caterpillar’s products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law,” according to the fund’s independent council on ethics.
Jerusalem argues that the bulldozers are a military necessity for combat engineering, tasks, force protection and demolition of threats.
In July, Israel received a significant amount of Caterpillar D9 bulldozers as part of a large-scale military resupply operation. The shipment was delayed by the Biden administration and then released by the Trump administration. The bulldozers are primarily used for flattening structures in the Gaza Strip as part of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas terrorist infrastructure.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) slammed the fund’s move against Caterpillar over its sales to Israel, calling it “beyond offensive” on X on Wednesday and warning that “your BS decision will not go unanswered.”
Norway’s fund sold its stakes in 11 Israeli companies earlier this month. Norges Bank Investment Management also announced at the time that it plans to move the other 50 companies in which it invests in-house.
“We are terminating contracts with external managers in Israel,” it said.
Maram Stern, executive vice president of the World Jewish Congress, told JNS at the time that this decision was “rooted in anti-Israel bias and blames Israel for a war that Hamas started and has exacerbated by withholding aid from their own civilians.”
Norges Bank’s decision “to single out Israel for condemnation does nothing to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Hamas still holds 50 hostages, or bring the region toward a peaceful future,” he said. “We urge Norges Bank to reconsider this reckless decision and not add to a climate of hostility for Israeli businesses.”
