Israeli electric car company Better Place is rightly challenged by activists as being part of Brand Israel. Its human rights record is troubling.
Here’s the latest example (via Electronic Intifada) of how these facts are routinely ignored in the name of being green and embracing “start-up Israel”:
An Israeli company that builds infrastructure for the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, and whose Israeli arm is led by a former general implicated in war crimes, has set up an electric taxi service station at Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport with the support of the Dutch government and the European Union.
The Israeli business website… Globes reports:
“Better Place Inc. today launched an electric taxi project at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The Dutch electric taxi project is the first green venture financed by the EU’s Ten-T decarbonization infrastructure program.
“Better Place built the battery replacement station at Schiphol Airport that will initially serve 10 Renault Fluence ZE electric taxis operated by three leading Dutch taxi companies. Better Place added that it will build a second battery replacement station in Amsterdam to increase the range of the taxi service for the first group of electric cabs.”
The Israeli ambassador to The Netherlands welcomed the project, and Better Place CEO Shai Agassi said, “We’re grateful for the support of the European Commission, the Dutch and Danish governments, Schiphol, Renault, and all of our partners in making this project happen in less than 18 months.”