Consumer Boycott of Israeli Goods

New Resource - The IPSC Boycott Map of Ireland

[Map last updated 14th June 2010] The IPSC have developed a new resource for activists to log the presence of Israeli products in shops around Ireland. The 'Boycott Map of Ireland' will display up-to-date information about the presence of Israeli products in stores in every county of Ireland.

You can download the Boycott Map here (MS Excel file- when opening, please allow macros and/or set macro security to 'low')

However, in order for this tool to be effective, we need your support. At present there is very little information in the map. We need people, when out doing their shopping etc, to log the presence of any Israeli goods they see, what store they are in, what town, county etc. Then you can fill in one of the following forms and email it to the IPSC Boycott Officer who will add the information to the Boycott Map. Email the Boycott Officer at consumerboycott [at] ipsc.ie (replace [at] with @ - this is an anti-spam measure)

Boycott Info Sumbission Forms - MS Excel format - MS Word format.

We look forward to hearing from you all!

Consumer Boycott of Israeli Goods

The Israeli government is dependent on a strong export-orientated economy. Europe is Israel’s largest trading partner. Almost 200 organisations representative of a broad spectrum of Palestinian civil society - trade unions, professional bodies such as all the academic unions and associations, medical unions, and most of the major NGOs - have called on the international community to endorse the call for a campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, similar to that which helped to end the apartheid regime in South Africa.  

Israel's regime is no less racist than the South African one, as many South Africans have declared - this is one reason why South Africa is at the forefront of the boycott movement.  Boycotting Israeli goods in this manner offers a non-violent tactic that can be both moral and effective in seeking a just and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Why a Boycott?

Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have noted that over 4,000 Palestinians, most of them unarmed civilians and including some 900 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in disproportionate attacks, targeted assassinations, and shelling and shooting into densely populated residential areas throughout the occupied Palestinian territories in the past 6 years. Israeli forces have destroyed thousands of Palestinian homes, vast areas of cultivated land and much crucial civilian infrastructure, including electricity power plants, roads, bridges and water, sewage and telephone networks.  

Ever increasing restrictions imposed on the movements of Palestinians and of goods have made any semblance of normal life impossible. Israel is rapidly constructing a 721km separation wall on Palestinian land, declared illegal by the world’s highest court. They are also constructing a parallel network of roads in the West Bank for Palestinians who are barred from using Israeli only roads. B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights group, describes the system as bearing "clear similarities to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa".

 The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the oPt, John Dugard, reported back to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2007, stating that the system of discriminatory control that Israel uses to control the oPt is effectively a system of apartheid.  

Individual consumers can show their opposition to Israel's project by participating in a consumer boycott of Israeli goods and services. A boycott can also put pressure on companies whose exports are linked to some of the most evident aspects of the Israeli occupation and apartheid.

Agrexco export fruit and vegetables for sale all over Europe and the US under the trade name Carmel. Much of its produce is grown on confiscated Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley, and the Israeli government owns 51% of the company. Jaffa Oranges were famous for centuries before Israelis successfully colonised the Palestinian name along with the city of Yafa.

On the left are the logos of some of the most common Israeli goods sold in Ireland - these goods are usually sold in big chainstores such as Dunnes, Tesco, M&S, Supervalu, Atlantic Homecare, Argos, B&Q, Woodies etc. Fyffes import and distribute Israeli fruit in Ireland. In addition organic and new potatoes are often of Israeli origin, as are almost all fresh herbs and most diamonds. This list is not exhaustive, so always be on the lookout for ‘Product of Israel’ labels and the Israeli barcode, which often starts with 729. Exercise your rights as a consumer; complain to managers about the continued presence of Israeli goods on Irish shelves.

Campaigns against Specific Irish Companies

Grafton Group: stocks considerable amounts of Israeli plastic goods.
CRH: Involved in the building of the Apartheid Wall, which is illegal under international law.
Veolia: Building a tram system connecting West Jerusalem with the illegal settelements in the Occupied Territories.

Don’t boycott, divestment and sanctions contradict or hamper existing or future negotiations over “Peace proposals”?

 “Peace” proposals can only bring Justice and Peace if they are based on the respect of Palestinian Human Rights, International Law and the UN Resolutions regarding Palestine. The call for boycott, divestment and sanctions is aimed at creating effective pressure on Israel in order to force a regime that has violated international law and Human Rights since its very inception to obey to international rulings and concede Palestinians the rights upon which peace can be built. It is Israel’s determination to use its military and economic power to devastate Palestinian lands and lives day after day and to impose negotiations that force Palestinians to renounce on their legitimate rights and make sure no real peace can be achieved. It is effective international pressure supporting the Palestinian struggle for their rights that can build the ground for a just and lasting solution.

Are we strong enough to make the Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israeli Occupation and Apartheid effective?

The Boycott Movement against South African Apartheid started in the late 1950s with small groups of activists and exiles in Britain and Sweden. It took years, if not decades, before it became a global movement and before churches, trade unions, and political parties became directly involved in the struggle. But once it was initiated, this movement helped lead eventually and inevitably to the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa.

The supporters of Palestine today can already count on existing boycott campaigns in many countries of the world; on divestment campaigns aimed at a diverse group of institutions and companies; and on a widespread call for sanctions at national and international levels. But just as important, the movement can help find its way forward by learning from past experiences of the anti-apartheid struggle, thanks to the active support of South African movements and from many representatives of the worldwide movement against apartheid in South Africa.

Dozens of websites offer research and information about different campaigns against Israeli Apartheid. Initiatives and campaigns are already mobilizing the streets throughout the Arab world, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia with calls for boycott and divestment.

In fact, the potential power of this movement has begun to worry the Israeli government and pro-Zionist lobbyists to such an extent that they have supported the introduction of a proposed law in the U.S. Congress that would ban divestment, and are working with institutions and websites to stop the “danger that we will be exposed to an international boycott as was the case before the fall of the regime in South Africa.” These words come from none other than the Israeli Minister of Justice, Tommy Lapid. (BBC, January, 4, 2004).

So our strength lies in unified and coordinated efforts that allow all of these various initiatives to work together and reinforce each other, reaching out to all of our societies in order to effectively unmask Israel’s apartheid policies and create popular pressure on our governments and enterprises to stop their support for Israel.

More information on the Boycott at BDSMovement.net