Local News & Reports

The campaign against Southern Water’s contract with Arad Technologies for water meters in the southeast is really gaining momentum. According to one engineer installing meters in Lewes the other day, refusals in Lewes are “currently running at 2 in 10”.

You can find out more about the current campaign, and the background to it, here.

Although much of the water meter installation in Brighton & Hove is finished, we understand that there are still many meters still to be installed in the city – mainly in flats and at properties where access is complicated. So, for many of us it’s not too late to refuse. If your meter hasn’t been installed yet, please contact Southern Water to object and to request an alternative product. Many of our supporters have done this, and have been assured that a non-Israeli meter will be installed instead. We do not object to water metering – but we do object to Southern Water’s contract with a company that is so complicit in ethnic cleansing, abuses of human rights and the expropriation of Palestinian water resources.

If you’re not sure if a meter has been installed at your property yet, you can ring Southern Water to find out. They will love to hear from you!

Southern Water Customer Services: 0845 278 0845

Thanks for your support!

Statement from Keith Taylor, Green MEP for Lewes and the South East of England

I find the award of contracts by Southern Water to an Israeli company that operates in and profits from illegal settlements completely unacceptable. Furthermore, as a resident of Brighton, I am personally extremely uncomfortable with the installation of a water meter produced by a company which profits from the violation of international law, through working in illegal Israeli settlements as well as developing water infrastructure where Palestinians themselves are forbidden from doing so.

To improve the situation for Palestinians it is crucial that pressure is put on Israel and Israeli companies to improve their human rights record, and for this reason, I urge Southern Water to demand that Arad to cease all its activities in the illegal settlements. If this is not possible then Southern Water should terminate the contracts as soon as possible.

Following the favorable coverage of our water meter campaign in Lewes by the Sussex Express, the Argus has run a favorable piece, including a mention of the strong support we have received from the Lewes MP Norman Baker. Click on the link below to see a scan of the article. You can learn more about the Lewes campaign here.

argus 02 sept 2013

 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint filed by BHPSC, in which we objected to an advert by Sodastream claiming that their manufacturing facility is based ‘within Israel’, when it is in fact based on an illegal industrial settlement in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

The ASA accepted our argument, and instructed Sodastream to remove the advert. In addition, the ASA have advised Sodastream that ‘should we receive any similar objections in future we may be compelled to proceed with a forml investigation’. This includes any pages on the Sodastream website.

A small but significant victory!

Our campaign against Southern Water’s contract with Arad Technologies continues to gain momentum, and has been boosted by the support of several local politicians.

Keith Taylor, the Member of the European Parliament for the Southeast, has written a strongly-worded letter to Southern Water’s managing director, making clear his view that Southern Water should not have entered into a partnership with Arad and should end the deal immediately. You can read Keith Taylor’s letter, and Southern Water’s reply, here.

And Norman Baker, the MP for Lewes, has issued a strong statement in support of the campaign, and has also written to the managing director of Southern Water asking him to re-assess the contract with Arad. You can read Norman Baker’s statement here.

We have recently achieved some significant results in our campaign against the Arad-made water meters being installed by Southern Water.

The meters are currently being installed in Lewes. Following house-to-house leafleting in the town, as well as a leafleting session in the town centre last week, we can report:

A number of Lewes residents have refused to allow Southern Water to install the Arad meters, and have insisted on an alternative product. We know of at least 10 households, and there could well be many more, since people wouldn’t necessarily inform us.

• This has prompted a full and positive feature in the Sussex Express, the Lewes local newspaper, last Friday (“Call for a boycott on Israeli-made meters”). You can see a scan of the article here.

• The MP for Lewes, Norman Baker, has issued a strongly-worded message of support, and has written to the CEO of Southern Water asking for the contract with Arad Technologies to be re-assessed. You can read the full text of Norman Baker’s message here.
• Our campaign has also attracted the attention of the Israeli media. Have a look at the article that appeared in Ha’aretz last week. The article shows that, although the actual number of refusals remains small, the impact has been considerable.

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