By Guy Page
A Bellows Falls solar power developer and 2022 GOP nominee for the U.S. House is calling for a boycott and strikes of Israeli companies and says he will provide ‘free solar energy’ in support of strikers.
A new petition calls on state legislatures to cut ties with Israeli companies — and with businesses that financially support them — in response to what organizer Liam Madden describes as ongoing war crimes in Gaza. The campaign’s creator argues that U.S. funding and arms shipments make Americans complicit in the humanitarian crisis, citing testimony from aid workers and rulings from the International Court of Justice.
“I am offering some free solar energy to anyone who can more directly withhold their support from Israel,” Madden said.
Pro-Palestinian military force Hamas invaded Israel in October, 2023, killing more than 2000 people, mostly civilians, and taking many hostages. Since then, Israeli’s military retaliation to neutralize Hamas has resulted in civilian suffering in Gaza, for which many Vermont officials – including all three members of Congress – have condemned Israel.
Although a political independent, Madden was the Republican Party nominee in the 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont. A critic of the two-party system, he stated that if elected, he would not caucus with House Republicans. According to his LinkedIn page, Madden, of Bellows Falls, is affiliated with Light on Earth Solar Partners.
Beyond urging residents to sign and share the petition, Madden is offering practical support to those willing to take more direct action. Vermonters on the Green Mountain Power grid who strike from jobs in the federal government, weapons manufacturing, or shipping companies could receive free solar energy to cover their electricity bills during the work stoppage.
The initiative, the organizer says, aims to remove financial barriers for people withholding their labor or business from entities seen as enabling the war, while encouraging broader solidarity with civilians in Gaza.
Madden does not say how much free solar energy he is prepared to offer, now does he explain how it would be delivered. VDC has reached out to Vermont Shalom Alliance for their comment on the proposed strike and solar energy offer.