Press Release

Oil Change International Statement in support of Palestine (May 9, 2024)

May 09, 2024

The ongoing invasion of Rafah is a devastating new climax in the genocide against the Palestinian people. There is nowhere left for the ~1.3 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah (mostly women and children) to go, with Israel closing two key border crossings blocking people’s ability to flee and for humanitarian aid to enter.

This invasion comes hours after Hamas agreed to a 42-day cease-fire and hostage exchange proposal, which the Israeli government rejected. Israel’s rejection of reuniting its own citizens with their families sheds light on the motivations behind the escalated violence. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people.

As Israel’s genocidal campaign intensifies, so does global opposition to it: students around the world are speaking out despite facing violent backlash and repression. Over 2,100 students have been arrested in the United States alone.

Terrifyingly, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to expand the definition of antisemitism to the point where criticism of Israel could be construed as antisemitic. Oil Change International stands firmly against anti-semitism and Islamophobia, and we know the conflation of anti-zionism with anti-semitism is an inherent threat to Jewish safety.

Student demands are simple and clear: disclose, divest, and speak out for a ceasefire. They are requesting full disclosure and transparency in their universities’ financial investments, and the subsequent divestment from all arms manufacturing companies and all holdings that are complicit in the Israeli occupation, apartheid, or genocide in Gaza. This pressure to cut off Israel’s financial support and demand divestment has shown promise in some universities. The long history of overlapping divestment movements on US campuses make clear how climate justice is intrinsically connected to other justice movements. Oil fuels war and accelerates the climate crisis. Divestment is a path towards justice.

Israel’s escalation against civilians, many of whom are children, has been clear for months, and yet, the US and other allies continued to send weapons and oil to fuel their war. Our recent research, Investigating the countries and companies behind Israeli crude oil and fuel supply chains showed that the US is the Israeli military’s key direct source of imported jet fuel. Oil majors, including BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni, and TotalEnergies, are also complicit in fueling atrocities in their ownership stakes in and operations of projects supplying oil to Israel. Blood is on all of their hands.

The first months of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, was equivalent to burning at least 150,000 tonnes of coal. Ending this war and the occupation of Palestine is a climate justice issue. From colonialism to climate, Palestine to protest rights — our struggles are connected.

Student protest movements are often on the right side of history. From South African Apartheid to the Vietnam War, and anti-Gulf War protests (with “no blood for oil” chants), history is repeating itself. We cannot look away as bombs blanket refugee camps this week. We must act.

We call on Israel and its international allies, especially the US, to ensure an immediate ceasefire to prevent any further loss of innocent lives and reunite Israeli and Palestinian hostages with their families. We continue to be in solidarity with millions in Palestine, in the streets and college campuses around the world led by Palestinians and Jews, calling for a ceasefire. The genocide of the Palestinian people must stop today.