What simply was a contest among schools from all over the world to construct solar-powered buildings has now turned into a political battle of will.
A group called the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East has sought international help to object to the expulsion of Israel’s Ariel University Center of Samaria from the 2010 Solar Decathlon to be held in Spain.
“We are… especially appalled by what the Spanish government has done. It is [especially] embarrassing, that the expulsion of [a] university from this international competition occurs on occasion of the first Solar Decathlon to be held in Europe,” said the international nonprofit group of academics in a recently released statement.
Solar Decathlon Europe is the continent’s version of the biennial contest held in the United States where universities across the globe meet to design and build an energy self-sufficient house that runs only on solar energy. Europe is organizing its first solar decathlon this year in Madrid.
But last year, the Spanish Ministry of Housing disallowed Ariel University from participating in this year’s decathlon due to political reasons, the Spanish government itself declared.
According to reports, Spain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry justified the expulsion by invoking a supposed international position regarding Israeli settlements.
The international community has been largely critical of the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a disputed territory between Israel and Palestine which has fuelled the long, continuing conflict.
The European Union has repeatedly declared that the settlements were illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace.
The university is allegedly located in a disputed settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank.
Ariel University is the largest public college in Israel. The Spanish housing ministry earlier chose the university as one of 20 finalists that would join Europe’s contest.
“Politically motivated government interference degrades science and scholarship. The Spanish government’s action has done more harm to Solar Decathlon Europe 2010 than to Ariel University Center, and may have set a precedent for the corruption of other academic competitions,” warned the group, which is also composed of decathlon participants.
Ariel University’s defenders have sent letters of concern to other Spanish government agencies and officials asking for the school’s reinstatement. The letters have yet to be answered.
The United States Department of Energy is the main sponsor of the solar decathlon.
