On Tuesday 30th March, in line with the Palestinian called International Day of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, approximately 50 activists from a variety of Palestine solidarity groups, inclusive of War on Want, International Solidarity Movement, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and numerous others, entered Waitrose in the Barbican, Central London, to protest the sale of Settlement and Israeli produce.
Having put into trolleys the produce labelled “Israeli” the activists gathered by the checkouts. John Hilary, the director of War on Want gave a speech regarding the nature of settlement goods and the need for the action against Waitrose, similarly War on Want’s Ruth Tanner sought to speak with management to present a letter of protest to the company.
Despite claims that the police had been called, activists held their ground, distributed leaflets to members of the public, spoke with shop staff and continued to explain to the public what the protest was about and why.
After around 20 minutes, protestors decided to leave the shop to chants of “Free Free Palestine”, the protest being deemed a success by all.
Although Waitrose had been chosen on this occasion, it is one of a number of supermarket chains, inclusive of Tescos, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons that stock both Israeli produce and produce grown in illegal Israeli settlements.
Furthermore, recent evidence by Corporate Watch researchers has demonstrated explicit mislabelling practices by suppliers, Carmel Agrexco, where produce from illegal Jordan Valley Settlements are being labelled as “Made in Israel”
http://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/%e2%80%9cproduce-of-israel%e2%80%9d-british-company-found-in-breach-of-labelling-guidelines/#more-341
Evidence of mislabelling such as this demands more than ever that we boycott all Israeli agricultural produce as it is impossible to tell the actual origin. Without the necessary checks throughout the supply chain, existing labelling of produce as "made in Israel" holds limited meaning.
The action is one of numerous that have been happening across the UK over the past year where the campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions has been rapidly growing. The Boycott Israeli Network – a coalition of Palestine solidarity groups, has further called for a UK-wide day of action against supermarkets for the 15th May 2010. It is hoped that similar actions will take place up and down the country to vocalise public dissent against the sale of Israeli and Settlement produce and further to show solidarity with the Palestinian call for non-violent resistance.
Despite claims that the police had been called, activists held their ground, distributed leaflets to members of the public, spoke with shop staff and continued to explain to the public what the protest was about and why.
After around 20 minutes, protestors decided to leave the shop to chants of “Free Free Palestine”, the protest being deemed a success by all.
Although Waitrose had been chosen on this occasion, it is one of a number of supermarket chains, inclusive of Tescos, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons that stock both Israeli produce and produce grown in illegal Israeli settlements.
Furthermore, recent evidence by Corporate Watch researchers has demonstrated explicit mislabelling practices by suppliers, Carmel Agrexco, where produce from illegal Jordan Valley Settlements are being labelled as “Made in Israel”
http://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/%e2%80%9cproduce-of-israel%e2%80%9d-british-company-found-in-breach-of-labelling-guidelines/#more-341 Evidence of mislabelling such as this demands more than ever that we boycott all Israeli agricultural produce as it is impossible to tell the actual origin. Without the necessary checks throughout the supply chain, existing labelling of produce as "made in Israel" holds limited meaning.
The action is one of numerous that have been happening across the UK over the past year where the campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions has been rapidly growing. The Boycott Israeli Network – a coalition of Palestine solidarity groups, has further called for a UK-wide day of action against supermarkets for the 15th May 2010. It is hoped that similar actions will take place up and down the country to vocalise public dissent against the sale of Israeli and Settlement produce and further to show solidarity with the Palestinian call for non-violent resistance.
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