President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, THOR INDUSTRIES INC
Robert Martin speaks for Palestine outside weapons factory in Dandenong
Robert Martin speaks in support of the Palestinians
Aaron Craine
About Robert Martin
Bob Martin, president and CEO of Thor Industries, discussed the company's performance and outlook in several media appearances in late 2024. He described the previous year as "rough" for the industry in North America, citing interest rate increases and macroeconomic factors outside the company's control. Martin noted that while the company focuses on what it can control, such as product innovation and efficiency, the broader environment has been challenging. He pointed to potential positive signs, including signals from the Federal Reserve about possible rate cuts, and expressed optimism that the industry could return to a more normalized rate in the second half of the year. Martin also highlighted the difference between the European and U.S. markets, noting that 80% of European customers pay for their units in cash, while in the U.S. about 80% finance, making the U.S. market more directly affected by interest rates. Martin also addressed organizational changes within Thor, stating that the passing of a company president in May led to leadership moves, including placing executives at Heartland and KZ. He drew comparisons to previous soft markets but said each situation is different, and the company continues to focus on products and innovation. Martin expressed confidence in the upcoming Tampa show, describing it as a strong event where customers come to see product. On the topic of electric vehicles, he said Thor has taken a lead with caution, noting that infrastructure needs to be in place before EV trailers or cars can become a major focus, and called for legislative support for charging infrastructure.
Transcript (13 segments)
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Robert Martin0:01
Hello, hello. A transgression is the wrong word. Just, I'm sure you all thought that. It's not a transgression, it's a... okay. Hi, my name is Robert Martin. I'm pretty passionate about Palestine for a number of reasons. I'm going to walk through a little story because it's very hard to go behind the speakers that have just spoken. Next time I insist on going first and leaving because I cannot... you guys rock, okay? And what we don't hear enough is the work that you guys do. Every single one of you guys should be up here talking. You do more for the Palestinian movement than you're ever told. You do more for the Palestinian movement and the Palestinians appreciate it. The Palestinians will be telling you via social media that you guys are making a difference because you are. I have learned that much from you guys over the last two weeks than I've learned in the last 10 years, and I've learned a lot. So kudos to you guys, you guys are rocking. You're here every day or everywhere, you're doing the work. Whoever does the investigating in here, I do not want them digging into my past because that is bloody scary.
There's also a person I actually do want to personally thank, and that's Michael Shake. Michael Shake is a personal friend of mine. He's helped me grow as a not-pro-Palestinian person to a Palestinian person. He came up with the idea of the flotilla. Now, I don't know if many of you guys know that he also spent a week in Israeli jail. He doesn't tell anybody these things, but I did want to pass that on.
So I want to touch base on how I turned. My best friend, my business partner, the guy that was my best man in my wedding, was Palestinian. For about 5 to 10 years, he would tell me what was going on in Palestine. I would go home and turn the news on, and the news, every time I saw anything, Israel was defending itself. They had the right to self-defense. The Palestinians were terrorists. It took me five odd years to change. 2014 came and I saw Palestinian kids dying. I used to go into my business partner's office and he was crying, wailing. And I said, 'What's going on, brother?' He said, 'When the kids look like your kids, you cannot do anything. All of these children look like my children, Rob. You're white, you don't get it as much.' And you know what? He's right. I did not.
I started to post on social media, and this is another horrific part of our racism. When I posted things about Palestine, people listened. I would post exactly the same as what my Palestinian friends would post. Guess what? Mine went viral. Five times I did word for word what they said, mine went viral. That showed me a lot. I then had people texting me, emailing me, yelling at me in the street when I went to the rally, saying, 'You don't have a clue, Rob. You sit behind your keyboard, you got no idea.' I said, 'You're right.' So I booked a ticket and I went to Palestine.
When I got to Palestine, it was shocking. Before I got to Palestine, I felt the racism. I was on a bus going to Allenby Bridge. I see these security guards with guns, M16s, get on the bus, harass people. I wasn't even in Palestine yet. They didn't touch me. What privilege. And I felt it. I was ashamed. I was shocked. I got to the border. Families, elderly people, children, all lined up to go into their own country. Guess what? 'I, sir, would you like to come to the front?' I said, 'What the f***? There's people here.' I refused to go to the front of the line. And what I witnessed was horrific. People being told, 'You just have to sit over here.' These people are going into their own country. What happens when we come home from the airport? We're rushed through because we're citizens. In Palestine, that's not the case. Before you get in there, you're harassed.
I went on a little tour on my own. I didn't want to go on a tour with anyone else because I didn't want biased opinions. I didn't want to get told where to go. So I went on my own, and a few things that I did witness went viral on the internet because I happened to have my phone and I happened to record it. The stuff that I didn't see would have been horrific. I went to visit a person called Mohammed El-Kurd. You're probably familiar with him now. He's one of the top 500 or top 50 influential writers. I met him when he was 14. He was scared to let me into his house because he assumed that I was either a settler, a Jewish guy coming from overseas to take his house. And I thought, 'Oh, that's a bit ridiculous. Why would you think that?' Only the fact that there is one living in the front of his house. They were given the house as refugees. Jewish people from America go in there and take turns taking over the house because they want racist ones, they want aggressive ones.
I spoke to these settlers. They're as proud as punch. I said, 'How do you like living in someone else's house?' 'Oh, it's my house now.' Shame. One of them had a dog, a vicious dog. Mohammed's family used to ring up and say, 'Can you come and protect us?' Do you know what they said? 'Stop calling.' Mohammed got bitten by this dog quite badly. Do you know what they did? They rang up a few days later and asked how the dog was. What is that? What is that?
Walking through Sheikh Jarrah, where Mohammed El-Kurd lives, all the streets were closed to the Palestinians. Palestinians live in that area. That's predominantly Palestinian. It's a Jewish holiday, they close everything up. I came across these Israeli kids, maybe 17 years old, picking on this Arab kid. So I went up and said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'What? You're a terror supporter. You going to stab me? You're a lefty.' I asked them, 'Have you ever met a Palestinian? You ever spoken to a Palestinian in your life?' 'No. Why would I? They stink. They're terrorists.' This shows who the racist people are in Palestine. The Israeli education system is geared to make sure the Palestinians either don't exist or that they are terrorists. That's only two things.
That was one suburb. Within one kilometer away, I visited another guy up the street. He got out of prison because he was protecting his mother. Settlers are in his house beating his mother. They were allowed in there because there is a settlement 500 meters away. He went to jail, the settlers did not get charged. Shame. I said, 'What do you want to do when you grow up?' He said, 'I always wanted to be a doctor, but I know that's not possible. Even if I got my degree, who's going to hire me? I'll be dead by then.' I think he's dead.
I visited another family whose daughter was hit by a Jewish lady in a car. Two kids got off a bus coming home from kindergarten. She was five. I visited the family the day afterwards. I'd had a banner organized to show the world was thinking of you. We are there. As I got there, I was stopped by Israeli occupation forces. They were there telling me that they were protecting the family, but I wasn't allowed to go in. I asked the Palestinians, 'Does anyone around here have guns?' It's in the West Bank. I said, 'No.' I asked the occupation force, 'Have you ever seen a gun with a Palestinian around here?' 'No.' 'Then why are you here with guns? Who's protecting who?' They were there to make sure that they put the boot behind the neck of this family again. Shame, shame, shame. That one really hit home because my daughter was the same age. This poor family cannot even grieve because they are abused. Palestinians are blamed for their own deaths.
I had a dozen stories here I could have told you. You find most of them online because they went viral because people didn't actually believe it could be true. I came across the Hasbara, which is a really good guide. You should actually read it. It's fascinating reading because it teaches people how they need to talk and frame it. Every time you use the word Palestine, make sure you use a Palestinian, make sure you put the word terrorist. Do not use their name. And they're only killed. You use an Israeli, make sure you say his name. He's a loving father. Massacred. Murdered. I couldn't believe this language, but then I realized what I used to see on the TV. My friend used to tell me that they're murdering my people, and I'd go home and Peter Hichner would tell me the Palestinians have attacked Israel. This is why they resist.
I'm sick to death of being called or insinuated that I'm a terror supporter because I don't support Israel. If I supported Israel, I would be supporting terror, and I'll never do that. Palestinians are called Jew haters, anti-Semites. The reason they resist is they're resisting an occupier. The occupier could be Chinese, Indian, wouldn't matter. They would hate what the action is. We cannot let the language dictate what we do. We need to dig below the surface. I am really embarrassed that I was a subconscious racist, but that's exactly what I was. My best friend, I never believed him. I only believed him when I went to Palestine and I came back and I said, 'Mate, you're right.' He goes, 'Really?'
So I ask anyone that does not know about Palestine or thinks they know about Israel, dig slightly below the surface and you will find it. Follow Palestinians, listen to their voices. As I said, I'm not worthy to be here. I'm not worthy to speak. But please, if you know someone that is on the fence, it's a really easy argument. You just ask, 'Why? Why do the Palestinians do it?' 'Why? Because they hate Jews.' 'Why?' Israel says that it represents every Jew in the world. No, it doesn't. Not even close. Palestine and us, we have a problem with the occupation. We have a problem with Israeli war crimes. And what you guys have done today is brilliant. All I ask is, in this hour, if they've got children, go home and look at your children. Imagine one of them is dead, because that's what you're doing. You are arming an army that is killing civilians. Free Palestine.