Santa Clara County: Stand for Palestine, Don’t Invest in Genocide!
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Until very recently, Santa Clara County has had tens of millions of dollars invested in Chevron, an oil company which has directly profited off environmental destruction and the genocide of Palestinians. Sign this petition to demand Santa Clara County's Board of Supervisors stand against genocide by adopting an ethical investment policy and pledge to never again invest in fossil fuel companies or companies complicit in the genocide! Read the petition text below.
Endorsing Organizations: San Jose Against War, Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Vigil 4 Gaza, Sunrise Bay Area, Oil and Gas Action Network, Extinction Rebellion SF Bay Area, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara County, American Friends Service Committee, Ambedkar King Study Circle, Human Agenda, Freedom Road Socialist Organization San Jose, San Jose People’s Pride, San Jose Peace & Justice Center, The Baytals, CAIR Action, Students for Justice in Palestine at SJSU, Silicon Valley Young Dems, Democrats for Palestinian Rights Bay Area, De Anza Students for Justice in Palestine, South Bay Jewish Voice for Peace, De Anza Muslim Students Association, Owls 4 Palestine, Foothill Muslim Students Association, Mission Muslim Students Association, Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine.
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To:
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
From:
[Your Name]
As Santa Clara County residents, we have watched in horror as Israel has murdered over 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, bombing hospitals, homes, schools, men, women, and children indiscriminately and in cold-blood. The remaining 2.2 million survivors have been subjected to unrelentless bombing, constant displacements forcing them to evacuate their homes, and campaigns of intentional starvation. Even now, as a ceasefire has started to be implemented, the people of Gaza must now deal with the indescribable level of destruction, with entire neighborhoods destroyed after two years of bombing.
As the world reeled in shock at these horrific acts against humanity, ExxonMobil and Chevron – both companies which Santa Clara County had investments in earlier this year – has shamelessly profited off this genocide. We send this petition to demand that the county pledge to never again invest in fossil fuel companies, or any companies complicit in human rights abuses.
Chevron and ExxonMobil have both directly powered the genocide, as both companies have facilitated fuel supplies to the Israeli jets and tanks bombarding Palestinians. Moreover, Chevron has fueled Israel’s energy apartheid, in which some Palestinian communities are banned from connection to the grid, charged different rates than Jewish-Israeli communities, or even cut off from power as a form of collective punishment. Chevron also provides hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from royalties to Israel’s government every year through its extraction projects co-ownership of Tamar and Leviathan, Israel’s largest active gas fields.
On top of fueling genocide, these fossil fuel companies have also destroyed the environment across the world through their contribution to climate change. Chevron’s environmental destruction has even deeply hurt our own local community: Just a few years ago, in 2021, Chevron’s Richmond refinery spilled 600 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay, directly impacting residents by creating conditions where people had to stay inside because the oil spill made it unsafe to breathe.
We are disappointed that Santa Clara County, one of the most diverse places in the US, has failed to take a clear stance against climate change and genocide so far. When companies support genocide and crimes against humanity, we have a basic duty to stand up for human rights and refuse to be complicit through investments in such companies. We urge the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to stand on the right side of history against genocide, and adopt a policy to never again invest in fossil fuel companies or any companies complicit in human rights abuses.
Sources and additional information: https://bit.ly/sccdivestsources