Background of Spain’s Boycott of Ariel University Center in the 2010 Solar Decathlon

The Solar Decathlon was founded in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  The biannual competition selects 20 teams from universities around the world who design and build the most attractive, energy-efficient home powered solely by the sun. Universities from several countries, including Spain, entered the competitions held in Washington DC in 2002, 2005, 2007, and 2009.1

On Sept. 18, 2007, Spain also got the right to hold a Solar Decathlon. The U.S. Department of Energy [DoE] signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Spain’s Undersecretary of Housing Fernando Magro Fernández, for Spain to host a European Decathlon with the assistance of the DoE in years alternating with the U.S. Solar Decathlon.2

Spain will hold its first Solar Decathlon, co-sponsored by the U.S. DoE, in Madrid in June 2010.  The first stage of the Decathlon ended on October 30, 2008, when 20 University teams from around the world were chosen as finalists in the stiff competition.  Each team was awarded 100,000 Euros from the Spanish government to begin building the model house. 

Israel’s Ariel University Center (AUC), located in the West Bank and known for its leadership in the field, was one of the 20 finalists.  There was no indication that political animosity would taint the event or pose problems for AUC, which was the only team chosen from the Middle East.  The team began building the solar house, met the design deadlines, and met with Spanish event officials in May, 2009, including Beatriz Corredo, Spanish Minister of Housing; Esperanza Aguirre, Madrid Regional President; Sergio Vega Sánchez,  Head Project Manager of the European Solar Decathlon; and Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, Mayor of Madrid.

Suddenly, on 9/11/09, Spain informed the AUC team that it had been expelled from the competition. AUC was not expelled for technical or scientific reasons, but solely out of political animosity.  The letter from Spanish Minister of Housing, Javier Ramos Guallart, informed AUC that because it is located in the “occupied territories,” its inclusion violated EU positions. Sergio Vega, project manager of the Solar Decathlon, wrote in a communiqué to the college, "The decision was made by the Spanish government based on the fact that the university is located in occupied territory in the West Bank. The Spanish government is committed to uphold the international agreement under the framework of the European Union and the United Nations regarding this geographical area."3

But Ariel’s location in the West Bank does not violate any EU policy on cooperative projects.  Israel has extensive economic, cultural and scientific programs with the EU.  Between 2007 and 2009, there were 428 joint scientific projects, some of which were located over the Green Line, the 1949 Armistice lines.4 Furthermore, under a recent agreement, the EU and Israel "committed themselves to establishing a partnership which provides for close political and mutually beneficial trade and investment relations together with economic, social, financial, civil scientific, technological and cultural cooperation.”5 There was no stipulation about geographic boundaries in this agreement.

Spain clearly knew where AUC was located when it chose AUC as a finalist, and when it cooperated with AUC over the following year, and never mentioned a problem about EU policies precisely because such policies do not exist.

Spain’s sudden decision was caused by the Palestinian academic boycott campaign against Israel. Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine lobbied for AUC’s exclusion as a part of the larger academic boycott against Israel that the BNC—the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Campaign National Committee—has tried to impose for several years.6  BNC’s extremist demands are that boycotts must be imposed until Israel “ends the occupation,” and permits millions of Palestinians refugees the “right of return to their original homes.” 7 The right of return is code for destroying Israel demographically by flooding it with the 4.6 million Palestinians currently on UNRWA’s rolls.8

No other teams were excluded from the Decathlon on any political grounds, including Tianjin University, located in China, perhaps one of the world's foremost human rights violators, was not disqualified from the Decathlon.

AUC immediately blasted the decision. "We scornfully reject the one-sided announcement we received from the Spanish Housing Ministry. The anti-academic decision harms 10,000 students in the university center, including 500 Arab students who study at the institution, in particular the Jewish and Arab students studying together in the school of architecture." 9

Several organizations also blasted Spain’s boycott, calling upon Spain to reverse its decision or for the U.S. to withdraw its co-sponsorship of the event, and revoke the Memorandum of Understanding, including StandWithUs which launched an international petition, the ADL,10 Scholars for Peace in the Middle East which represents 28,000 academics from 3500 colleges and universities, and the ZOA. Other Solar Decathlon finalists also registered their objections to the Spain’s discriminatory decision, including Prof. Pascal Rollet of France's Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Architecture de Grenoble. She wrote to AUC: "I do not agree with the Spanish decision because the Ariel University's activities are directed towards academic excellence for peace. Kindly receive my utmost support in this difficult situation."11

The U.S. DoE is aware of Spain’s decision and of the multiple complaints about that decision, but as of Nov. 16, 2009, had still not made any public statements.

Imposing an academic boycott on Israel in a scientific competition that will benefit the global community should disqualify Spain from hosting the Decathlon.  This discrimination violates every standard of academic inquiry and cooperation.  Columbia University President Bollinger underscored the anti-intellectual, harmful nature of such boycotts in a statement signed by a number of other University presidents:

“I find this idea utterly antithetical to the fundamental values of the academy, where we will not hold intellectual exchange hostage to the political disagreements of the moment. In seeking to quarantine Israeli universities and scholars this vote threatens every university committed to fostering scholarly and cultural exchanges that lead to enlightenment, empathy, and a much-needed international marketplace of ideas…. Boycott us, then, for we gladly stand together with our many colleagues in British, American and Israeli universities against such intellectually shoddy and politically biased attempts to hijack the central mission of higher education.”12

Spain also has the highest incidence of anti-Semitic attitudes of any country in Europe.13 Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero reportedly delivered “a tirade of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism” at a dinner on Dec. 5, 2006, and wore a kaffiyeh, symbol of the Palestinian terrorism, for a photo with the Socialist Youth Movement.14  The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) should investigate whether Spain’s actions qualify as anti-Semitic according to the OSCE’s 2004 Vienna Declaration.  Anti-Semitism includes “the singling out of Israel for discriminatory treatment in the international arena,” according to the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism of 2008.15

Background Materials

Solar Decathlon Websites

Solar Decathlon 2010, Madrid:  http://www.solardecathlon.tu-darmstadt.de/media/solardecathlon/pdfs_1/sde_preliminarypresentation.pdf

Solar Decathlon, U.S.: http://www.solardecathlon.org/

Ariel University Center Decathlon website and “stretch house” plan:  http://solar.ariel.ac.il/

U.S.-Spain Memorandum of Understanding:  http://www1.eere.energy.gov/international/pdfs/spain_mou.pdf

Statements regarding academic boycotts of Israel:

San Francisco State University President Robert Corrigan, Nov.12, 2009: “I am told that a November 3 event sponsored by students called for an academic and cultural boycott of one nation, Israel.  Such a campaign to limit others’ speech and rein in the free exchange of ideas runs counter to all that SF State stands for, and I must therefore share my concerns.”  http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/40526/statement-by-sfsu-president-richard-corrigan/

Norway Minister of Education and Research, Tora Aasland on a proposed academic boycott of Israel, Nov. 11, 2009: “The boycott is incompatible with the hallmark of academic culture: a free, research-based dialogue.” http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1257770035024&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

Columbia University President Bollinger, statement also signed by several other University presidents, June 12, 2007:  “I find this idea utterly antithetical to the fundamental values of the academy, where we will not hold intellectual exchange hostage to the political disagreements of the moment. In seeking to quarantine Israeli universities and scholars this vote threatens every university committed to fostering scholarly and cultural exchanges that lead to enlightenment, empathy, and a much-needed international marketplace of ideas.” http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/07/06/boycott.html

London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism of 2008: “Anti-Semitism includes “the singling out of Israel for discriminatory treatment in the international arena.” http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/1151284.pdf

Israel-EU Relations

Euro-Mediterranean Agreement at http://www.delisr.ec.europa.eu/english/content/eu_and_country/asso_agree_en.pdf

EU and Israel "committed themselves to establishing a partnership which provides for close political and mutually beneficial trade and investment relations together with economic, social, financial, civil scientific, technological and cultural cooperation.” http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/israel/index_en.htm

Spain and Israel and Jews

Ignacio Russell Cano, “In Spain, anti-Semitism is new leftist trend,” YNet News, July 20, 2006 at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3278919,00.html

Soeren Kern, “Spain, Israel, and the Fight Over UNIFIL,” Nov. 5, 2009: “Does Prime Minister Zapatero lead the most anti-Israel government in Europe”? http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/spain-israel-and-the-fight-over-unifil/

Report on Anti-Semitism in Spain:  www.antisemitism.org.il/eng/events/43360/Spain%E2%80%93ADLreport%3AAntisemitismonriseinSpain

Pew Global Attitudes Survey, 2008:  http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/262.pdf

THE SOLAR DECATHALON TEAM FROM ARIEL UNIVERSITY

The European Solar Decathlon (SDE) is an international student competition, being held for the first time on European soil. This competition, which began in the US under the sponsorship of the US Dept. of Energy, has taken place several times in the United States. In June 2010, it will take place in Madrid, Spain following a collaboration between the American, Spanish and European governments.

The SDE competition requires students from different fields to design, build and operate a real scale 70 sq. meter house. The competition deals with sustainable building and its different aspects, whether it is architecture, energy usage, marketing or any other related field. The students participating in this event are required to perform in ten different fields and produce a house that is as sustainable as possible.
The Ariel University Center (AUC) was chosen to be one of 20 universities participating in the 2010 SDE. Among these universities are some of the leading universities in the world in various fields. AUC was the only Israeli and Middle Eastern university represented in the SDE.

We, the students who have taken part in the competition during the past year felt great sense of pride and responsibility, knowing that we represent not only our university, but our country and region, as well. Our team has been working on the project since October of 2008. We believe our design is innovative, attractive, exciting and promising. Our project is influenced and based on Israeli, Jewish and Middle Eastern traditions and history and is unique, both in design and concept.  We were more than happy to showcase our design at SIMA – a real estate exhibition in Madrid in May 2009, which was a part of a workshop organized by the SDE. We participated in this workshop and made great connections with the competition organizers and other teams. We felt that we were well on our way to being major players in this competition and felt confident in our chances to win 1st place.

To our consternation, in mid-September of 2009, Ariel University Center received a letter from the Spanish Minister of Housing, informing us of our dismissal from the competition. The reason for the dismissal was our geographical location which, according to the letter, contradicts EU and UN laws and regulations. We must note that it appeared that a letter by a boycotting organization, called the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) instigated this decision.

We were shocked to hear that political considerations and issues became a part of this competition. This event, that is intended to showcase ideas and technologies that will help us create a better world, became, in an instant, the grounds for political debate. In our eyes, it is not only wrong, but completely contradictory to the ideas of the competition.

We believe that academic freedom should be maintained at any cost and that students should not be affected by these issues. We feel that our project, which could have benefited not only us, but the international community, is now lost because of political decisions that have no place in academic competitions. We know that we have the support of the other universities and students participating in the SDE and we know that they were as shocked by this decision as we were.

We, the students of the AUC Solar Decathlon Team, are sorry that the Spanish government chose this direction and we hope that it will withdraw its decision in the near future, so that academic freedom will not be compromised more than it already has.

Sincerely,
The AUC student Team

Ariel University Center Contact Information: www.afauc.org

Statement of the Chairman of the Committee of University Heads

[translated from Hebrew] - October 13, 2009

The Committee of University Heads in Israel
The Committee of University Heads in Israel strongly denounces and condemns the decision of the Spanish Housing Ministry and the University of Madrid to dismiss the School of Architecture of the institute of higher education in Ariel from the finals of the international 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe competition in Spain.

The Committee of University Heads calls upon the international academic community to publically oppose the use of academic boycott as part of a political struggle against the State of Israel.

Academic boycott harms the advancement of scientific research and its capacity to contribute to the welfare of humanity, promote understanding between nations and advance peace.

Sincerely,

[signed]

Prof. Aharon Ben-Ze’ev
Chairman
The Committee of University Heads in Israel

"Spain Bans Ariel U. from International Contest"

By: Abe Selig and Jpost staff, Jerusalem Post, Sept. 22, 2009

The Spanish Housing Ministry has disqualified Ariel University Center from the international Solar Decathlon contest, on the grounds that the university is "located in occupied territories."

In a letter sent to the University Center, Javier Ramos Guallart explained that his ministry was forced to make the decision to ban the Israeli academics from the biannual competition to design a self-sufficient solar house, citing "European Union political guidelines" and the institution's location in Samaria.

The delegation from Ariel, which together with 20 other universities had reached the competition's final round, worked for two years designing and building a self-sufficient house that uses solar power as its only source of energy, and uses only half of the amount of energy needed to operate a regular house.

This Article can be read in full at: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1253198174466&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

"Spain Boycotts Ariel College for Being on ‘Occupied Territory"

By: Yaheli Moran Zelikovich, Y Net News, Sept. 22, 2009

Spanish government, sponsor of Solar Decathalon, disqualifies architecture department of Ariel University Center of Samaria from finals. '10,000 students hurt by fight that is against international law,' claims college.

The Spanish Housing Ministry disqualified Ariel University Center of Samaria from competing in the finals of the international competition between university architecture departments to design and build a self-sufficient house using solar power. …

The cancellation of the Israeli team's participation in the competition was urged by an initiative put out by the group, Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine as a continuation of the academic boycott against Israel being led for quite some time by BNC - The Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Campaign National Committee...

The college's struggle received surprising support from Prof. Pascal Rollet of France's Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Architecture de Grenoble. She sent a letter to the college: "I do not agree with the Spanish decision because the Ariel University's activities are directed towards academic excellence for peace. Kindly receive my utmost support in this difficult situation."

This Article can be read in full at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3779907,00.html

"Wiesenthal Center, ADL slam Spanish ban of scientists from Ariel"

By: Brian Blondy, Jerusalem Post, Oct. 7, 2009

On the same day that Prof. Ada E. Yonath, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for X-Ray Crystallography, Israeli scientists from Ariel University of Samaria were still not being allowed to participate in the Solar Decathlon Europe competition to be held in Spain in 2010 due to "political guidelines."

On Wednesday, Shimon Samuels, director of International Relations for the Simon Wiesenthal Center of Europe, called for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), a branch of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), to condemn Spain for its "discriminatory behavior" in violating its commitments to the OSCE for barring the Israeli team in the competition.

In the letter, Samuels argued that barring the Israeli team demonstrates "political discrimination against free academic discourse, [an] impugning of their professional reputation and [the decision] potentially damages the career advancement, of those disinvited.

"In a country where polls indicate a high increase in media-inspired anti-Semitic expression, this decision by the Spanish authorities certainly violates the OSCE Berlin Declaration on Anti-Semitism of April 24, 2004, and the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, disseminated in March 2004 on the grounds of incitement to hatred."

This Article can be read in full at: http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1254861894269&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Boycotting and destabilizing a country's business heart for political reasons is fine in my books. But boycotting art, schools, or the environment?

By: Karin Kloosterman

Boycotting and destabilizing a country's business heart for political reasons is fine in my books. But boycotting art, schools, or the environment?

Spain, with which Israel has a number of high profile collaborative clean tech projects in solar energy and in water, have decided to boycott a solar science project from an Israeli academic team because their college is in the West Bank region of Judea and Samaria.

………And if the Spaniards want to do the boycott even more justice, they should boycott Solel, now building solar power stations in Spain, and Israeli water technology and know-how, being implemented to help Spain stave off drought.

I think it will be very interesting to see how diplomats from Spain (and the US via the Department of Energy) will be scrambling to fix this one. I've been to many a number of clean technology conferences in Israel, heavily attended by Spanish government officials, mayors and business people. I am quite sure not everyone will be happy with this boycott, which seems small, but which says a lot.

This Article can be read in full at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karin-kloosterman/the-spanish-government-vi_b_301076.html

LETTER OF CONCERN REGARDING THE EXPULSION OF ARIEL UNIVERSITY FROM SOLAR DECATHLON 2010

By Scholars for Peace in the Middle East , Oct. 1, 2009

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, an organization of some 28,000 academics worldwide, wishes to express its dismay at the decision of the Spanish Ministry of Housing to expel Ariel College from the international Solar Decathlon. As an organization dedicated to honest and accurate discussion and debate, we find the actions of the Spanish government particularly unhelpful. We are especially dismayed that this decision was not based on academic or technological reasons consistent with the competition, but on purely and admittedly political grounds. We note that the expelled team had competed successfully up to this point and in fact had won a place in the finals. We would have hoped that a competition as important as Solar Decathlon would be based on matters of design, science and technology. The invocation of politics by the Spanish Ministry of Housing to eliminate a clearly competent entry is an astounding violation of good scientific and academic principles, and certainly does little to foster international cooperation.

We fully understand that the issues in the Middle East, in general, and between Israelis and Palestinians in particular are complicated and profound. If there were an easy solution, it would have been found and implemented by now. Honest efforts towards peacemaking are going on now at many levels with some signs of hope being expressed for the first time in a long time. In this context it has to be clearly understood that any solution to the situation will have to be fashioned by the parties themselves. The determination by the Spanish Ministry of Housing to step in and take a stand on what such a solution should be is not only inappropriate, but
fundamentally partisan.

The Spanish Ministry of Housing has chosen to eliminate an academic institution of higher learning that includes both Jews and Arabs in its student body and is thus training diverse students in the Middle East to work and live together. By eliminating such an institution, the Spanish Ministry has acted in violation of the very principles it is claiming to uphold.

Finally, we wish to express our fear that the actions of the Spanish government could serve as a precedent for governments to reach into academic competitions and make political determinations as to who may compete and who may not. The protection of science and scholarship from government interference is a long-held value in the West.

For all these reasons, we find the decision regrettable and obstructive to reasonable negotiations for peace in the Middle East. We urge the Spanish Ministry of Housing to reconsider its decision.

This Article can be read in full at: http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/articles.cgi?ID=6011

ADL, "Spain 'Running Out Of Excuses' For Excluding Israeli Researchers From Solar Competition"

New York, NY, October 21, 2009 … The Spanish government "is running out of excuses" for its sudden exclusion of Israeli researchers from an international solar competition in Madrid, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said after hearing from Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the issue.

The League wrote to the Spanish government seeking an explanation for the exclusion of an Israeli university, Ariel University Center of Samaria, from the Solar Decathlon Europe, a competition with teams from around the world contending to build a solar-powered house.  Ariel University had qualified for the final around, which will be held in Madrid in 2010.

Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied to ADL that the decision was made based on the "position of the international community" on Israeli settlements and the fact that "the European Union has repeatedly declared that settlements are illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace."

"The Spanish Government is running out of excuses for its sudden exclusion of Ariel University from the Solar Decathlon Europe," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "Israel is recognized around the world as a leader in solar power technology.  The government is using the issue of settlements to justify a hypocritical decision.  Spain should admit its mistake and invite the Israeli team back to the competition."

When it first announced the disqualification of the Israeli team, Spain's Ministry of Housing said the decision was in accordance with European Union policy.  Except there is no policy of non-cooperation with Israeli institutions in the West Bank, some of which have received funding from the 'EU Framework Programme for R&D.'

"Spain's politicization of this competition harms scientific cooperation on an important environmental project," said Mr. Foxman.  "Solar-powered homes could benefit untold numbers of people around the world, just as other Israeli innovations have in medicine, agriculture, and communications technologies."

The League noted that the Spanish government and the EU do cooperate with universities elsewhere in the world in areas they deem occupied, even when those universities were established after the foreign occupation.  Universities in occupied areas that have received EU support include:

• Artsakh State University, established in 1992 in Nagorno-Karabakh, which received support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology for an archeology project; and
• Eastern Mediterranean University, established in 1979 in Northern Cyprus, which received a EUR 20,000 grant from the European Commission in September 2009.

This Press Release can be read in full at: http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/5628_62.htm

"ZOA Condemns Spain For Expelling Israeli Architects & Solar Experts From Solar Power Competition"

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has condemned the decision of the government of Spain to expel Israeli architects and solar experts from competing in the finals of the international competition between university architecture departments to design and build a self-sufficient house using solar power. Spain’s Housing Ministry disqualified Ariel University Center of Samaria in Ariel, a Jewish city of over 20,000 people, from competing in the finals. In the words of Sergio Vega, project manager of the competition, Solar Decathlon, "The decision was made by the Spanish government based on the fact that the university is located in occupied territory in the West Bank." But in fact, there is no EU policy that supports such a practice.

These Jewish architects and solar experts were expelled from the competition after Ariel University Center reached the finals, together with 20 other universities from around the world after two years of collaboration with the competition’s management and the Spanish government. In this framework, the college was even awarded a 100,000 Euro grant by the competition’s organizers to build a model house for the final competition slated to be held in Madrid in June 2010.

This Press Release can be read in full at: http://www.zoa.org/sitedocuments/pressrelease_view.asp?pressreleaseID=1714

Letter 1, to U.S. Department of State and Your Congressional Representatives
Letter 2, to U.S. Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Letter 3, to Spanish Officials and Spanish Consulates in the U.S., Spanish Ministry of Housing Policy and Universidad Polytecnica de Madrid

After you sign our petition you will be able to edit and e-mail letters 2 and 3 from this site.

Find Your Senator and
Congressional Representative

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Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
202-647-5291

Mr. Jeffrey Feltman
Assistant Secretary of State
Near East Affairs Bureau
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Re: Stop Spain's discrimination against Israel or withdraw U.S. co-sponsorship of Solar Decathlon, and revoke Spain's right to hold U.S. sponsored Solar Decathlon

Dear

Please take action immediately to stop a boycott attempt that political extremists have launched against Israel.

I urge you to demand that Spain reinstate Ariel University Center (AUC) in the 2010 International Solar Decathlon, an international competition founded by the U.S. Department of Energy. If Spain refuses to comply, we urge you to remove the U.S. Department of Energy as a co-sponsor, and to revoke Spain's privilege of hosting the U.S. founded competition.

In an unjustifiable, last-minute decision, Spain capitulated to pressure from political extremists and expelled the AUC team, even though it had been chosen as one of 20 finalists in a stiff competition, and had already received some of the money granted to competitors. Spain justified the sudden exclusion by misrepresenting EU policy on its relations with Israeli communities in the disputed territory of the Bank.

I urge you, as U.S. officials, to denounce this abuse and politicization of the Decathlon competition. The 2007 U.S.-Spain Memorandum of Understanding, which granted Spain the privilege of hosting the competition, does not give Spain the right to arbitrarily use the competition as a political weapon against Israel.

I also urge you to condemn Spain for its punitive, discriminatory actions against the Arab and Israeli students at AUC, and against the diverse group on the Decathlon team who are an example of Arab-Israeli cooperation.

The extremists' goal of importing the 60-year-old Arab boycott against Israel into the West violates U.S. policy, and violates all standards for international cooperation which call for transcending political grievances in joint research that will advance human knowledge and benefit humanity. Boycott activists oppose and threaten those ideals. "Boycott is incompatible with the hallmark of academic culture: a free, research-based dialogue," according to the Rector of Norway's University of Science and Technology.

I respectfully remind you that Israel and the Palestinians are trying to work out a solution to their conflict. Most peace proposals have placed Ariel within Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. This boycott presupposes and prejudices the outcome of negotiations about the borders of a proposed Palestinian state.

I also urge you to call for the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) to investigate whether Spain's actions qualify as anti-Semitic according to the OSCE's 2004 Vienna Declaration. Anti-Semitism includes "the singling out of Israel for discriminatory treatment in the international arena," according to the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism of 2008.

I urge you to ensure that the U.S. stands up against boycott efforts that unjustly and maliciously target Israel. Countries and institutions that permit these boycotts reward political extremists who oppose peace, and who undermine international cooperation in research that will benefit humanity.

Sincerely,

Dr. Steven Chu
U.S. Secretary of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
7A-257/FORS
Washington, DC 20585
Phone: 202-586-6210
Email: the.secretary@hq.doe.gov

Mr. Richard King
U.S. Department of Energy
Washington, D.C.
richard.king@ee.doe.gov

Dr. Dan E. Arvizu, Director
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Golden, Colorado
Dan.Arvizu@nrel.gov

Ms. Cecile Warner, Engineer
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Golden, Colorado
Cecile.Warner@nrel.gov

Re: Spain's Expulsion of Israel's Ariel University from 2010 Solar Decathlon

Dear Dr. Chu, Mr. King, Dr. Arvizu, and Ms. Warner ,

I am deeply disturbed by Spain's discriminatory, sudden decision to expel Israel's Ariel University from the 2010 International Solar Decathlon, even though Ariel U's team was chosen as one of the 20 finalists, and even though singling out Israel very likely qualifies as anti-Semitism, according to the 2008 London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism. Since the Department of Energy and the NREL developed the Solar Decathlon, our members would like to work with you in any way we can to have Spain immediately reinstate Ariel U's team so it can complete its work, and ensure that this worthy project and other vital international research is not hijacked and politicized by extremists such as those associated with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns launched against Israel. If Spain does not comply, the U.S. Department of Energy should revoke its co-sponsorship of the event.

These efforts to import the 60-year-old Arab boycott of Israel into the West violates U.S. policy, and violates all standards of international cooperation which call for transcending political grievances for research that will advance human knowledge and benefit humanity. "Boycott is incompatible with the hallmark of academic culture: a free, research-based dialogue," stated the Rector of Norway's University of Science and Technology when his institution unanimously rejected a boycott-Israel resolution.

Unfortunately, Spain capitulated to these extremists, and has politicized a noble scientific effort. It justified its decision by misrepresenting EU policy on relations with Israeli communities in the disputed territory of the West Bank.

Spain is violating the spirit of the 2007 U.S.-Spain Memorandum of Understanding, which granted Spain the privilege of hosting the competition. The Memorandum did not give Spain the right to arbitrarily use the competition as a political weapon against Israel. We urge you to consider revoking this Memorandum if Spain does not reverse its discriminatory policy.

I respectfully remind you that Israel and the Palestinians are trying to work out a solution to their conflict. Most peace proposals have placed Ariel within Israel's final borders with the Palestinians. This boycott presupposes and prejudices the outcome of future negotiations about a proposed Palestinian state. The extremists who launched this campaign do not just demand an immediate end to the "occupation." They also call for the boycott to continue until every one of the 4.4 million registered UNRWA Palestinian refugees are allowed to move into Israel. This boycott is part of their effort to undermine Israel in all ways, and to undermine hopes for a peaceful two-state solution. The U.S. should not be connected in any way to these malicious, belligerent efforts.

I urge you to notify the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) so it can investigate whether Spain's actions qualify as anti-Semitic according to the OSCE's 2004 Vienna Declaration. Anti-Semitism includes the "singling out of Israel for discriminatory treatment in the international arena," according to the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism of 2008.

I urge you to stand up against boycott efforts that unjustly and maliciously target Israel, and that sabotage international cooperation in research that will benefit humanity. As Columbia University President Bollinger declared, boycotts are utterly antithetical to the fundamental values of the academy, where we will not hold intellectual exchange hostage to the political disagreements of the moment. In seeking to quarantine Israeli universities and scholars this vote threatens every university committed to fostering scholarly and cultural exchanges that lead to enlightenment, empathy, and a much-needed international marketplace of ideas."

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Javier Ramos Guallart
Secretary General of Housing
Ministry of Housing
Pº de la Castellana, 112
28071 Madrid, Spain

Beatariz Corredor Sierra
Minister of Housing
Ministry of Housing
Pº de la Castellana, 112
28071 Madrid, Spain

Javier Uceda Antolin
Rector
Universidad Polytecnica de Madrid
rector@upm.es

U.S. Spanish Consulates (Addresses below)

Dear

I am appalled by your discriminatory, sudden decision to expel Israel’s Ariel University Center (AUC) from the 2010 International Solar Decathlon, even though AUC’s team was chosen as one of the 20 finalists. We urge you to reinstate AUC immediately.

People from around the world are now writing to Congress and the U.S. Department of Energy to protest and urging that if you do not reinstate AUC, the U.S. should withdraw its co-sponsorship of the 2010 event, and revoke the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding which granted you the right to hold a European Solar Decathlon. Nothing in the Memorandum allows you to arbitrarily use the competition as a political weapon against Israel.

I am also deeply concerned that you misrepresented EU policy on relations with Israeli communities in the disputed territory of the West Bank. EU policies and practices do not justify, let alone require, boycotts. Israel has extensive economic, cultural and scientific programs with the EU. Between 2007 and 2009, there were 428 joint scientific projects, some of which were located over the Green Line

Your capitulation to the anti-Israel Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment [BDS] movement’s effort to import the 60-year-old Arab boycott of Israel into the West is offensive to all fair-minded people. It violates U.S. policy and all standards of international academic cooperation which call for transcending political grievances for research that will advance human knowledge and benefit humanity. As Columbia University President Bollinger declared, boycotts are “utterly antithetical to the fundamental values of the academy, where we will not hold intellectual exchange hostage to the political disagreements of the moment. In seeking to quarantine Israeli universities and scholars [boycott] threatens every university committed to fostering scholarly and cultural exchanges….” I hope that Spain does not want to be associated with malicious, anti-intellectual policies that sacrifice, instead of advance, serious research that can benefit the global community.

Extremist demands do not help the Palestinians, and certainly do not help Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts. I remind you that Israel and the Palestinians are trying to work out a solution to their conflict. Many peace proposals have placed Ariel within Israel’s final borders with the Palestinians. This boycott presupposes and prejudices the outcome of future negotiations.

I remind you, too, that the BDS extremists also call for the boycott to continue until every one of the 4.4 million registered UNRWA Palestinian refugees are allowed to move into Israel. This boycott is part of their effort to undermine Israel, and to oppose progress in forging a two-state solution. BDS and those who support their campaign are enemies of peace.

I am asking the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to investigate whether your actions qualify as anti-Semitic according to the OSCE’s 2004 Vienna Declaration. Anti-Semitism includes the “singling out of Israel for discriminatory treatment in the international arena,” according to the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism of 2008. Spain’s disturbing historical and contemporary record on attitudes toward Jews and the Jewish State would certainly have to be considered.

I hope that Spain will reject these malicious, reactionary and unjust efforts to target Israel, and instead side with progressive, enlightened people everywhere who support international cooperation in research that will benefit humanity.

Embassy of Spain
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington DC 20037
Telephone: (202) 452-0100
Fax: (202) 833-5670
E-mail: emb.washington@maec.es
URL: http://www.spainemb.org/ingles/indexing.htm

Consulate General of Spain in New York
(services Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)
150 East 58th Street, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10155
Phone: 212-355-4080
Fax: 212-644-3751
Email: spainconsulny@mail.maei.es

Consulate General of Spain located in Chicago
(services IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI)
180 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-782-4588
Fax: 312-782-1635
Email: conspainchicago@sbcglobal.net

Consulate General of Spain in Houston
(services NM, OK, TX)
1800 Bering Drive, Suite 660
Houston, TX 77057
Phone: 713-783-6200
Fax: 713-783-6166
Email: conspainhouston@mail.mae.es

Consulate General of Spain in Los Angeles
(services AZ, CA, CO, UT)
5055 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 860
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323-938-0158
Email: consplax@mail.mae.es

Consulate General of Spain in Florida
(services FL, GA, SC)
2655 Le Jeune Rd., Suite 203
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Phone: 305-446-5511
Fax: 305-446-0585
Email: conspain@gate.net

Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco
(serves AL, CA (except Southern CA), HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, WY)
1405 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 941009
Phone: 415-922-2995
Fax: 415-931-9706
Email: conspsfo@mail.mae.es