ADL slams Spain for banning West Bank scientists from contest
Israeli academics disqualified, despite being reaching final of the Solar Decathlon contest.
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies Tags: Spain Israel newsThe Anti-Defamation League has condemned the Spanish government for disqualifying a group of Israeli researches from an international solar power design competition in Madrid.
"[The] decision by the Spanish government to disqualify the Israeli researchers is unwarranted, biased and clearly discriminatory," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "This unacceptable action introduces politics into an important scientific competition where politics has no place."
The ADL also called on the U.S. Department of Energy, the sponsor of the competition, and on the government of Spain to overturn the disqualification.
The team of Israeli academics, representing Ariel University Center of Samaria, was banned from the competition last week because the university was located in the West Bank, despite being announced as a finalist in the Solar Decathlon contest.
In a statement, a Spanish Housing Ministry official defended Spain's decision, saying: "Spain acted in line with European Union policy of opposing Israel's occupation of Palestinian land."
While the contest was sponsored by the U.S. department, since Spain is hosting and financing a European version of it in 2010 and 2012, the country had ultimate say over such details as who takes part, a ministry official said.
The ADL wrote in a letter to Spain's foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, that it was "unaware of any EU policy that would support this action."
"Respectfully, we urge Spain to reverse this outrageous decision," the letter said.
The ADL urged the U.S. department to consider terminating its sponsorship of the solar power design contest should Spain decline to overturn its decision.
"We hope that the Department of Energy will make clear to its Spanish partners its strong disagreement with this decision," the League said in a letter to Dr. Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy.
The Jewish organization added: "If Spain does not permit the Israeli team to participate, consider withdrawing its sponsorship from the competition."
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very little of scientific importance comes from Spain anyhow! why scientists would want to meet there is a mystery to me!
One thing is to critise the current Spanish Goverment and another to critise the Spanish nation..If you got something against the Spanish goverment be free to express it but DO NOT CRITISE THE SPANISH NATION for what its goverment does....
"The students who study there should know better" Does that include the arab students? I await your answer.
to destabilize the ME and the world, working through Hamas,Hizbollah and setting up missles in Latin America with their buddy Chavez who is planning to send missles into American cities while building nuclear bombs to use not only on Israel but on the west,Spain who has been meeting with Chavez and is on a negative path will soon become completely Islamocized part of the Caliphate that the Extremists think is theirs and spain will enter the dark ages with no freedom, no joy no liberalism only sharia
But Iberia is still flying to Israel...and making money.
only in the land of nukes and kooks!! (israhel)
the best in solar energy field . But then those inquisitors would never tolerate to see we , Jews , score . It is just the nature of the beast .
Headlining 'ADL condemns __________ for action displeasing to Israel' is about like headlining 'warm and sunny in Palm Springs.' How about some news? Incidentally, how does 'ADL' stand for 'Association for Suppression of Criticism of Israel'? I've been trying to work out what the initials could stand for, but I haven't been able to come up with anything.
I think it's a shame that this organization has chosen to invest so much in defending Israel rather than safeguarding against antisemitism. When real cases of antisemitism and the ADL complains, it's message is diluted by this kind of highly political, right-wing posturing. We need an organization focused on racism and discrimination per se --not a mouth-piece for (center & right-wing) Israel.
Israel has been noteworthy in its development of solar energy, with solar panels on the rooftops of most of the houses and businesses. It has also developed drip irrigation, the least wasteful use of water for farming, as well as other green economic policies. Naturally the Spanish, antisemites from before the 1500's, would prefer to blackball them.
and the catholic church and its inquisitions continuing right up to the 20th century !
tall on border between her African colony ,Melina and the rest of Morocco. The support should be rescinded ,the EU shouldn't support Spanish colonialsm and apartheid.
Um. The University is built in the occupied territories (even Israel recognizes this, as we haven't extended civil law to the territories and the non-Jewish residents there cannot vote). The world (and much of the Jewish, Zionist and Israeli community) has repeatedly insisted that they (we) do not recognize the legitimacy of the occupation. Maybe its acceptable from a military/security perspective (debatable), but certainly not for civilian settlement. Therefore, the students who study there should know better. They study at an institution that was set up to solidify the occupation. Fine with me if they're boycotted. A boycott of Israeli academics/students is another story.
Ban Israeli teams, kow-tow to the Chinese ones. Wake us when the Spaniards make a decision based on morality rather than power politics.
Get used to it. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
Basque is much less Spain than the West Bank is Arab. The Spanish have it reversed. Spain also forgets how many of their larger cities were built, founded, and developed by Jews and were Jewish cities. These cities were stolen from the Jewish people during the inquisition and by rights most of Spain should be property of the Jewish people.