Last week, Iowa State became embroiled in an ongoing controversy: Should Caterpillar Inc. sell bulldozers to Israel?

Gaining perspective on this issue requires an understanding of the long-standing problems between Israelis and Palestinians — an issue that inevitably results in heated debate on both sides, and rightfully so.

In the case of last week’s protest, Caterpillar’s gift of $170,000 to the College of Engineering for the creation of a mechatronics lab drew family members of peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed beneath a Caterpillar bulldozer in March.

Corrie was a volunteer for the peace organization International Solidarity Movement, and was standing between the bulldozer and a house of a Palestinian pharmacist who was accused of terrorist acts.

Peace activists sometimes act as “human shields” to stop the destruction of Palestinian houses, but this time, the driver of the bulldozer did not stop.

The Israeli government maintains Corrie’s death was a “regrettable accident,” and the U.S. State Department launched an investigation into the incident.

International Solidarity and Corrie’s family maintain her death was the result of the actions of the Israeli military official who was operating the bulldozer, and that Israel uses the strategy of destroying Palestinian homes in violation of international law.

Caterpillar comes into this equation by selling the bulldozers to the Israeli government. The multimillion dollar, multinational company maintains it has no control over how its earth-moving machines are used after their sale, said Caterpillar spokesman Benjamin Cordani.

“We do not and cannot base sales on a customer’s intended use for our product,” Cordani said. “Caterpillar is a global company that provides products and services to companies and governments throughout the world. We follow the U.S. government’s direction on international sales and have a process in place to ensure we follow all laws and guidelines.”

There are no U.S. laws prohibiting the export of earth-moving equipment. But it’s hard to defend Caterpillar when it know its equipment is moving more than just earth. It’s also hard to justify Israel’s policy of destruction that mandates the homes of Palestinian suicide bombers be destroyed, as well as homes built without permits — permits that are nearly impossible to obtain from the Israeli government, as new illegal Jewish settlements are built monthly.

The bottom line is there are no right or wrong answers in this situation. Caterpillar’s sizable monetary donation is a boon to ISU’s engineering department, but should not be viewed as “blood money,” as protesters claim. We can only hope, through education, ISU students can analyze the ages-old and volatile situation in the Middle East and make judgements of their own.