A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Christmas Boycott of Isralie goods from occupied territories

Palestinian Solidarity Campaign - Lancaster | 17.12.2007 20:22 | Palestine

This is a small but user friendly list of specific 'festive' products that come from 'illegal' settlements in the occupied territories in Palestine. Please pass around to networks and groups and gladly print out if need be and distribute to shops, supermarkets and health foods stores

“The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
- Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949

Boycott Israel
Please continue to protest the supermarkets mislabeling of stolen goods
One way in which the supermarkets attempt to misinform consumers who would boycott Israeli product is to mislabel produce sourced from Israeli settlements. Waitrose admit that they label all produce from the occupied territories as 'Produce of West Bank',Goods carrying this label are almost certainly settlement goods not Palestinian goods. In a recent ITN report Sainsbury and Tesco's, when confronted about this, admitted 'mistakenly' mislabelling settlement produce in the past and undertook to label settlement produce ' West Bank ' in the future. Labelling settlement produce ' West Bank ' misleads the consumer and denies them the choice between Palestinian goods (of which there are almost none) and settlement goods. It undermines the boycott movement by making Israeli and settlement goods harder to identify.
As it's Christmas, a lot of our last minute purchases will be perishable and luxury goods, this constitutes a major part settlement production. The products listed below are all made in Settlements on the West Bank or in The Golan Heights and branded as made in Israel. Lets make this an Israel free Christmas.

* Tivall (West Bank) (Sainsbury's Meatfree Hot Dog Sausages and Vegetarian Sausages)
* Carmel (West Bank) (Organic Fruit and Veg sold in most Supermarkets)
* Tomer (West Bank) (Organic Fruit and Veg sold in most Supermarkets)
* Beigel and Beigel (West Bank) (Sweets and Pretzels etc)
* Agriver/Flowersdirect (West Bank) (strawberries sold in Aldi), but also other berries, cut herbs, pomegranates, figs, peppers, passion fruit, plums, carrots, cut melons, cut mangos and many other products.
* Wines
o Barkan Wines (West Bank)
o Galil Wines (The Golan Heights) (Waitrose, Sainsbury's)
o Palwin Wine (West Bank) (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose)
o Carmel Wine (West Bank) (Smithfield Wines, Manchester)
o Tishbi (The Golan Heights) (Smithfield Wines, Manchester)
o Binyamina (West Bank/Golan) (John Lewis, Waitrose)

These are just a small selection of the illegal goods exported from Israel, feel free to add to this, it is just our attempt at increasing awareness.. Distribute to as many as possible and if you're looking for fresh produce, Always Buy Local.
For more information please visit
www.bigcampaign.org

http://www.gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm

We want the Israeli authorities to make a distinction possible by stating clearly whether a certain product is imported from in Israel or from a settlement.
You can help a lot by writing to your store management, demanding this marking and by constantly asking the storekeeper for the exact origin of such products ·
Please write to DEFRA and ask them to take action against the labeling of settlement goods as 'produce of West Bank ' by supermarkets:
DEFRA
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Nobel House
17 Smith Square

SW1P 3JR
Tel: 020 7238 6000 (switchboard).

· Write to Tesco's an Sainsbury's and tell them that packaging goods 'produce of West Bank' instead of 'produce of Israel' is replacing one misleading label with another:
Tescos
Company Secretary
Baird Avenue
Dundee
DD1 9NS
or call them on 0800 50 55 55

Sainsburys
Company Secretary
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd
33 Holborn
London
EC1N 2HT
or call them on 0800 636262

· Waitrose also admit labelling settlement produce as ' West Bank '. Please write to:
Ms Margaret Casely-Hayford
Company Secretary & Director of Legal Services Waitrose
John Lewis Group Partnership House
Carlisle Place
London
SW1P 1BX

Palestinian Solidarity Campaign - Lancaster
Homepage: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/psclancaster/

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

... sorry ...

18.12.2007 09:38

As much as it is admirable and necessary to engage in boycott, it is not enough.

If we are to stop and reverse the rape of Palestine, the maltreatment and despair of her people, the de-basement and betrayal of jewish aspirations for a homeland ... then more is required.

We are required to actively seek out these products, wherever they may be, and - contrary to law - render them commercially unviable ... break them, destroy them.

We are required to seek out those individuals and groups that engage actively or passively in the distribution, transport and manufacture of these goods and engage them ... educate them, make known the ethical, moral and legal consequences of their actions ... harass them.

Perhaps we will be required to do more and sooner. If the rumours of nuclear warfare are crystalised into reality unilaterally by the actions of the zionist state, I can't imagine that any of the above would be enough of a response. Therefore it is entirely urgent and necessary that widspread civil disobidience take place now ...

jackslucid
mail e-mail: jackslucid@hotmail.com

a good list

18.12.2007 13:33

courtesy of women in green:

http://www.womeningreen.org/boycott.htm

send them a lovely email thanking them for taking the trouble to compile such a comprehensive list. that will really make their day!!!!

um rahel

jackslucid don't destroy the israeli goods

18.12.2007 15:33

the shop selling them will just bang in another order along with the money to replace the goods grown on stolen land and the (illegal) suppliers will say "goody, they sold that lot quick". it's only the shop selling the stuff that will lose out. why are so many activists unable to see the stupidity of such actions? time and again i've heard animal righters encouraging everyone to destroy meat in supermarkets (more animals will be killed to replace it), de-forestation activists suggesting wood products be destroyed (more trees felled to replace them. and so on. really can't believe i have to tell people this.

sid

oh really?

18.12.2007 17:59

Far be for me to pull such a wise and experienced campaigner -such as yourself - up, but I will.

In order for the retailer to return a profit on goods they must be sold.

If the retailer loses money consistantly on goods destroyed, they do not return a profit. Thus they are unlikely to want to bare the cost of their association with criminals.

Do you imagine the retailer to be less enthusiastic about the product and thus their suppliers if they experience the 'burn' of 1 in 100 shoppers not parting with their cash? I should imagine they will barely register the slow down of turnover.

Perhaps we should all write a strong letter to the papers instead ... implore our MP???

Do you think the producers are going to stop supplying willing retailers because of a small blip in the numbers?

jackslucid
mail e-mail: jackslucd@hotmail.com

UK Indymedia