Which Dates to Break the Fast with?! Boycott 729 & 871 (Zionism)!
AlWihdeh
Boycott Israeli Majool Dates - By Mazen Adel & Mohammad Arafah
Israeli Fresh Produce
In 2010 exports of Israeli fresh agricultural produce was worth $1.41 billion and most of it, some 87% was exported to Europe (UN Commodity Trade Statistics). Fruit, vegetables and herbs grown in Israel and on its settlements in the West Bank can be seen on sale at all the major supermarkets and greengrocers. Always check the label - avoid Israel and West Bank.
Until recently the main player was Israeli state owned company Carmel Agrexco, responsible for about 60-70% of all Israel’s agricultural exports. But in September 2011 Agrexco went bankrupt. This was due in part to fact that Agrexco has been the target of a sustained international boycott campaign. It has been recently reported that the Israeli Bickel Export Group has acquired Agrexco with plans to revive it in 2012 (target sales 50 million euros).
With the privately owned Israeli company Mehadrin Tnuport Export (MTEX) set to take Agrexco’s place as Israel’s biggest agricultural exporter the focus of the international boycott campaign is now firmly on MTEX with actions already having taken place (Nov 2011) outside its UK headquarters in Borehamwood and its French headquarters in Chateaurenard.
MTEX is Israel’s largest grower and exporter of citrus fruit responsible for 65% of overseas sales of Israel's most recognisable brand on the supermarket shelves - JAFFA. They supply most of the supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsburys. MTEX ownes 50% of Miriam Shoham Ltd whose mangoes and pomegranates are available in Tescos and Asda.
Hadiklaim, the Israeli Date Growers Cooperative, which includes illegal settler plantations in the Jordan Valley, sells 65% of all Israeli dates. Its dates have brand names King Solomon, Jordan River, Tamara, Karsten Farms / Kalahari and Bomaja. Agrexco date brands include Jordan Plains and Jordan Valley.
Most supermarkets sell fresh herbs sourced from the illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank. These include basil, sage, chives, rosemary, parsely, sorrel, marjoram, mint, thyme and tarragon. They are labelled 'West Bank' or 'Israel'. 'West Bank' never refers to Palestinian goods as they don't make it past the military checkpoints. Often settlements goods are labelled 'Produce of Israel' to avoid payment of tariffs when entering the EU - according to the EU-Israel Association Agreement goods produced outside the recognised borders of Israel (ie on the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian Occupied Territories) are not exhempt from import duties. A July 2008 Channel 4 news report revealed herbs grown on the illegal No'omi settlement on the West Bank, destined for the UK, were being mislabelled 'produce of Israel' in breach of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Other Israeli fresh produce brands to avoid include Edom (peppers, tomatoes and mangoes), Carmy (sweet potatoes), AdaFresh (herbs), Arava (peppers, Tomatoes, herbs) and Tali (table grapes).
..Information on other companies to follow shortly..
Israel – a mango powerhouse - Israel Environment, Ynetnews
www.ynetnews.com › Ynetnews › Environment1 Sep 2012 - Environment: In just 20 years, Israel has become one of the biggest mango exporters in the Middle East.Israel: The search for new mango varieties - FreshPlaza
www.freshplaza.com/article/.../Israel-The-search-for-new-mango-varietie...7 Sep 2012 - Israel: The search for new mango varieties. The Shoham O rganisation was set up in 1984 and specialises in the cultivation and post harvest ...
Israel: Galilee Export to ramp up mango shipments
www.freshfruitportal.com/.../israel-galilee-export-to-ramp-up-mango-shi...7 Aug 2014 - An Israeli company better known for its citrus fruit and avocados is making headway in the mango market.- 09/07/2009 / JORDAN
Down with the Israeli mango!
A demonstration of farmers and unionists ended in 11 arrests on Sunday. Jordan and Israel might have signed a peace agreement in 1994, but these Jordanians take no heed of it in their protest over fruit and vegetable imports from the Jewish state.
The demonstrators gathered in front of the Ministry for Agriculture and chanted anti-Israeli slogans, brandishing photos of Palestinian children killed during the January offensive in the Gaza Strip. They also called for the dismissal of the minister for agriculture, Said Masri, for failing to protect local products by allowing the import of Israeli products. In response, the minister told state news agency Petra that Jordan had indeed imported 1,930 tonnes of Israeli agricultural products from Israel this year, but that it refused to accept fruit and vegetables from Jewish settlements.
Nevertheless, Israel is benefiting far more from the trade between the two countries. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the state garnered 207 million euros from exports delivered to Jordan, while only 76 million went in the other direction.
CONTRIBUTORS
- PressTV-Boycott Israel campaign gaining momentumPress TV - 10 hours ago
BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES
KEY FACTS
- Over 50% of the worlds Medjool dates are produced in Israel.
- 60% of Israeli dates are grown on illegal settlement plantations in the Jordan Valley.
- Israeli profits from dates in 2011 = $265 million, export up by 20% in 2012.
Palestinian child working in illegal Israeli settlement.
Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced
to take their children out of school and hand them over
to the settlers to work for a pittance
(source: Channel4 news 7 July 2008)
Settlements
Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land have been ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice. Nearly half of the settlements in the Jordan Valley grow dates, its their most profitable crop, and contributes significantly to their economic viability. If you oppose the settlements target their dates.Exploitation
Picking of the dates is hard work, Israeli settlers bring in low payed Palestinian labourers to do this back breaking work. During the pruning season, workers are dropped on the date palm trees by a hoisting crane at 5 in the morning, left perched on palms that soar to heights of 12 metres - a 4 storey building, left there swaying in the wind for up to 8 hours without even a toilet break, with no means to come down until the crane returns at the end of the day, the workers cling to the tree with one arm and work with the other to meet their quota. If they fall behind they will lose their jobs.Child Labour
The Israelis prefer to employ children – even issuing them official work permits, as they can climb trees faster, work for less and it’s easier to cheat and humiliate them. Out of desperate poverty Palestinian families are forced to take their children out of school and hand them over to the settlers to work for a pittance.
Guilty Companies
After a sustained global boycott campaign Israels largest agricultural exporter Agrexco went in to liquidation in 2011.Hadiklaim, the Israeli Date Growers Cooperative, which includes illegal settler plantations in the Jordan Valley, sells 70% of all Israeli dates. Its brand names include Jordan River, King Solomon, Tamara Barhi Dates, Desert Diamond, Rapunzel, Bomaja, Shams and Delilah. They also supply Israeli dates to supermarkets who market them under their own brand. These include Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose. Sometimes they are labelled “produced in the West Bank”, remember these are not Palestinian dates.
Hadiklaim have also sold South African dates (Kalahari, Karsten Farms) with profits still going to Israel, but due to the boycott their South African partner Karsten Farms have this year cut ties and vowed never to partner with any Israeli entity complicit in the occupation. In a letter they have assured us that Hadiklaim is no longer permitted to use their brand names Kalahari and Karsten Farms. Accordingly we have this year removed them from the boycott.
Mehadrin, Israel's largest fresh produce exporter, last year boasted of doubling their Medjoul date sales sighting strong demand in Ramadan! Their dates have brand names Premium Medjoul, Fancy Medjoul, Royal Treasure, Red Sea, and Bonbonierra. Sometimes their packaging states "Grown by Palestinian Farmers", this refers to Palestinian 'slave' labourers found on Israeli plantations.
BDS Call
In 2005 Palestinian civil society initiated a call for people of conscience around the world to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights. The call was endorsed by over 170 Palestinian organisations representing all aspects of society including farmers.Plea From Palestine
Activists visiting the Palestinian village of Fasayl in the Jordan Valley discovered that villagers are slowly being forced off their land by the Israeli army for settlement expansion. The only livelihood left open to them is to work for Israeli settlements. The Palestinians whose land had been stolen and were forced to work for Agrexco (including 2 children under the age of 12), in order to feed their families – they had a message for the activists, a plea for anyone who would listen – take action against the companies that support Israeli apartheid. What excuse is left for us not to boycott Israel?
Sainsburys Medjool Dates
produced in the illegal Israeli settlement
of Netiv Hagdud in the West Bank
Sometimes they are labelled "produced in the West Bank" – this just confirms they are grown in the illegal Israeli settlements.
http://www.inminds.com/boycott-israeli-dates.php http://www.inminds.com/boycott-israel.html
Shocking: Dates grown on land stolen from the Palestinians are exported, to be used by Europe's muslims to break their fast in the month of Ramadhan.
These Israeil settlers bring in Palestinian labourers, many of them children, who have been forced by poverty to leave school, to pick the dates for them. The work is back-breaking and poorly paid. These Palestinian labourers are left at the top of date palms for up to 8 hours a day, without even a toilet break, clinging on to the tree with one arm while they work with the other.
|