by Ryane B., co-chair of our Palestine Working Group

Holding signs and banners with the message “NO FUEL FOR GENOCIDE,” members of our Palestine Working Group led a series of two informational pickets on February 1st and 2nd at a busy Chevron station on Clairmont Avenue, telling drivers to buy their gas elsewhere.

Joined by DSA comrades and concerned community members, the protest was part of a nationwide weekend of action targeting Chevron for its complicity in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

Those who attended the pickets reported busy traffic with lots of supportive responses, minimal negativity, and more than a dozen cars successfully turned away from the station after learning about Chevron’s role in the genocide.

The Stop Fueling Genocide campaign is led by the DSA International Committee along with the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Chevron supplies Israel with 70% of its electricity and is the largest natural gas supplier to Israel since 2020. The corporation profits directly from Israel’s brutal regime of apartheid and illegal military occupation of Gaza.

For the past several months, Palestine Working Group members have been raising public awareness of Chevron’s crimes and asking Birmingham residents to boycott Chevron. Now, along with DSA chapters across the country, they are turning up pressure by asking Chevron-branded gas station owners to either sign a letter demanding that Chevron end their business with Israel or stop selling Chevron-branded gas entirely.

Last weekend’s pickets were targeted at Chevron stations where owners refused to engage with our demands for divestment. Following a weekend of successful action, Birmingham DSA’s Palestine Working Group plans to continue escalating pressure on local Chevron stations through informational picketing and conversations with station owners. The next day of action will be on the calendar soon, so keep an eye out!

In the meantime, we call on all community members to boycott and divest from Chevron/Texaco gas, and sign the petition demanding that Chevron cut its ties to apartheid Israel. Want to get involved? Attend the next Palestine Working Group meeting on Tuesday, February 18th at 6PM!