Here’s an exciting story from Mondoweiss — one that happened in our neck of the woods:
An ad campaign of sorts ran in Berkeley and San Francisco at the end of 2009 drawing attention to Pacific Gas & Electric’s relationship with the Israeli company Solel and the growing BDS movement. Several of PG&E’s “Solar Power” bus shelter billboards were modified to read “Making planets orbit and bagels toast … and fueling Israeli apartheid.” PG&E has a 25-year contract with Solel to develop the Mojave Solar Park in California’s Mojave Desert.
The modified ads were rehung in bus shelters in downtown Berkeley and San Francisco’s Union Square, and stayed up for several weeks through November and December.
In response to the question “why target Solel?” the artist — identified as K.R. — replies:
Every large Israeli company finances the Israeli government through taxes, and thus its wars and aggression, and its apartheid system, are financed by the money that comes into the country through its manufacturing and exports. In 2008, the company’s CEO received an Outstanding Exporter Award from President Shimon Peres. It is one of the leading solar thermal producers in the world. At the time divestment from South Africa was being debated, divestment was definitely not limited to companies that were “doing bad things” directly for the South African government; it was understood that in order to affect the South African state, we needed to hurt its economy.
You can read the complete article here.
Also, we should say that BACEIA wasn’t involved in this action, but of course we’re excited to see more people responding to the call for BDS!