Boycott Israeli Goods & Services
Individual consumers can show their opposition to Israel’s Apartheid policies against the Palestinian people and violations of international law 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.
Take Action: We are asking supporters and those concerned about Palestinian rights to write to supermarkets and ask them to stop stocking Israeli goods.
The Israeli barcode starts with the numbers 729. However, it doesn’t necessarily appear on all Israeli products so be sure to always check the label or ask your supplier for country of origin.
Also, please note that this is not a exhaustive list of all Israeli products available in Ireland – brand names change, companies dissolve, new companies enter the market, etc.
Supermarket products
Jaffa oranges were famous for centuries before Israel colonised the Palestinian name along with the city of Yafa. The Israeli agricultural companies Mehadrin (Jaffa) and Carmel-Agrexco export fruit and vegetables for sale to Europe. Much of this produce is grown on confiscated Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley. Apart from oranges, other examples of fruit exported by these, and other, companies are grapefruits, peppers, avocados, grapes, figs, and passion and sharon fruits.
Dates from Israel come in many brands and are particularity prominent during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan where they can be found in many halal shops.
Israeli new potatoes are often seen in the spring before Irish potatoes are available. Carrots are also exported from Israel.
Tivall is an Israeli company that produces vegetarian foods.
Sabra is an Israeli company that sells hummus and other dips. Its parent company, the Strauss Group, provides financial support to the Israeli occupation forces.
Herbs, such as basil, dill, tarragon, parsley, sage, rosemary, mint, chives and others are commonly sold.
Sodastream, an appliance for home-making carbonated drinks is a product that was previously manufactured in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in occupied Palestine. It now operates from the Naqab (Negev) area in the Apartheid State of Israel.
These goods are widely available in big chainstores such as Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Supervalu, Aldi and Lidl – as well as often unknowingly delivered to restaurants, cafes, takeaways, etc by wholesalers who don’t inform customers of their place of origin.
Hardware and homeware products
Most Stanley/Black&Decker Toolboxes and plastic organisers are made in Israel. Plastic saw horses are also often available.
Keter exports a wide range of large plastic products from Israel. These include shelf storage bins, garden sheds, outdoor storage boxes, dog kennels and composting bins.
Palram is an Israel-based manufacturer of Polycarbonate and PVC products such as greenhouses, roofing, gazebos and sheds.
Lees Carpets are made by the Israeli company Carmel Carpets in the illegal industrial settlement zone of Barkan in the West Bank.
Beauty Products and clothing
Dead Sea beauty products come in many brands including, Ahava, WestLab, Dead Sea Magik, GADI21, -417, VivO, Nevo and Sea Spa Skincare. YesTo, formerly an Israel-based company which has since ‘relocated’ to the US, uses Dead Sea minerals in many of its products. They can be found in Holland & Barrett, Nourish and pharmacies. In addition they are often marketed by on stalls at large shopping centres.
Any theft by the Israeli state or companies of natural resources from the Palestinian section of the Dead Sea constitutes War Pillage under the terms of the Geneva Convention. Ahava is one company that is guilty of this, being based in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem on the Dead Sea.
Despite the misleading name, MoroccanOil is an Israeli company that manufactures argan oil-based hair care products. Arganicare is another Israeli company that produces argan oil-based hair products.
Ronen Chen is an Israeli women’s fashion label that can often be found in boutique fashion outlets.
Puma is an international sporting brand that proudces clothing, sportswear and equipment. Puma is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes football teams in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land in its leagues.
Pharmaceuticals
The Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva, which specialises in generic drugs, is the “leading supplier of prescription drugs in the Irish market”. For most Teva products there are alternatives if you ask your pharmacist – if there is no alternative, just remember Nelson Mandela’s maxim that “a boycott is a tactic, not a principle”.
Sudocrem, for many years thought of as a quintessentially Irish brand, was bought out by Teva in 2016. Not long after, it announced that it was closing its Irish factory and relocating to Bulgaria.
Children’s Toys and other kid’s products
The Israeli brand AMAV market a range of “activities” type craft boxes (plastic) and Art Easels for children. These are available at major toy retailers.
Tiny Love is an Israeli toy manufacturer that make baby toys.
Lidl’s own brand Lupilu Babywipes are made in Israel.
IT, Music, and Online Tools & Services
The ‘DIY-website’ company Wix is headquartered in Israel, and Wix is the parent ogansiation of the online artistic platform DeviantArt which it acquired in 2017.
The audio plugin development company Waves is a joint US-Israeli venture.
The ancestry research and DNA testing website MyHeritage.com is headquartered in Tel Aviv.
Although officially headquatered in New York, Connecteam is an employee management app based in Israel.
The controversial online marketplace Fiverr is headquartered in Tel Aviv, while its Corporate Office is based in the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC.
HP Hewlett-Packard, although not an Israeli company, is boycottable due to the company’s deep role in helping entrench the occupation of Palestine and associated human rights abuses.
Similarly, while also not an Israeli company, Motorola Solutions (not Motorola Mobility, which is a separate company) is boycottable as it provides surveillance in Israeli illegal colonial settlements, profiting from this violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Siemens is another complicit multinational company that is building the EuroAsia Interconnector, a subsea cable that will link Israel’s electricity grid with Europe’s, allowing illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land to benefit from Israel-EU trade of electricity.
Vehicles, machinery, insurance and energy
Although none are Israeli companies, Caterpillar, JCB and Hyundai supply the machinery used by Israel when it demolishes Palestinian homes, structures and farmlands in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Naqab (Negev) desert. In addition to machinery, Caterpillar also markets shoes, bags, tools, childrens’ toys and other consumer products under its brand name.
Chevron, through its subsidiary Texaco, operates petrol/service stations around Ireland, and supplies heating oil. Chevron is the main extractor of fossil gas claimed by Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean and helps brings Israel billions of dollars in revenues from payments for its gas extraction licences, helping to finance Israel’s war chest and its regime of apartheid.
Multinational insurance and financial services giant AXA holds investments in Israeli banks that help to finance the construction of illegal Israeli settlements, as well as in other companies that are complicit in war crimes; The Don’t Buy into Occupation coalition notes that Axa ranks 30th among the top 100 European investors in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprises.
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