Restore Integrity of Solar Decathlon

The Hon. Dr. Steven Chu
Secretary, US DOE
Washington, DC

Honorable Secretary Chu:

We have learned with dismay of the decision of the Spanish Housing Ministry to disqualify a group of Israeli academics from competing in the Solar Decathlon solely because they are from the Ariel University Center of Samaria.

This competition is organized by the US Department of Energy and has been held, until now, in Washington. Under a 2007 agreement between the US and Spain, however, the next decathlon is scheduled to take place next month in Madrid.

The delegation from Ariel has worked on its project for two years and has reached the competition's finals. On September 18th, the University received a letter from the Spanish Government disqualifying its team.

As American citizens, we protest the politicization of a project that, until now, has represented a model of international friendship and cooperation for global progress. We urge your Department to insist that this outrageous and unfair political 'blacklisting' decision be reversed. If necessary, we ask that the competition be transferred back to the United States in order to restore the dignity and integrity of the competition process.

We look forward to your swift, favorable action, and ask that you confirm that the US Government will not be a party to this cynical corruption of the academic process.