This report is on the latest boycott activity of the Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Committee (IPSC). Israeli potatoes, especially those grown on Palestinian land using Palestinian water, were targeted, but a general boycott remains in effect in by this Irish solidarity group, as it attempts to mimic the South African boycott of Apartheid.
IPSC activists continued their boycott Israeli potatoes campaign with a picket outside SuperValu on Aston Quay, who continue to stock Israeli potatoes and other goods.
10 activists from the IPSC staged a two hour picket outside SuperValu on Aston Quay. They distributed 500 leaflets informing consumers about the presence of Israeli spuds on Irish shelves and asked shoppers to consider boycotting these potatoes and other Israeli produce in an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people and as a method of exerting pressure on the Israeli state to end its human rights abuses in, and brutal occupation of, the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
In South Africa, an international boycott played a significant role in ending apartheid. You can help defeat the brutal apartheid system that Israel is imposing on the Palestinians.
We think of the common potato as being part of Irish history. We may imagine that all potatoes sold in Irish shops are grown in Ireland. However, many Irish shops and supermarkets, including Dunnes Stores, Tesco, and Marks & Spencer sell Israeli Potatoes, rather than Irish spuds. The profits from, and taxes imposed on, these goods help Israel to maintain and expand its 40-year old illegal occupation of Palestine. For example, the largest exporter of fruit and vegetables, Carmel-Agrexco, is half owned by the Israeli state.
On top of this, often the potatoes are grown by illegal settlers using stolen Palestinian water – many precious West Bank water aquifers are under Israeli military control with Israel deciding who gets the water, and when. Israeli settlements in the West Bank never face water shortages while it is an all too common feature for Palestinians despite water coming from exactly the same sources.
To add insult to injury – along with orchards and olive groves – Palestinian arable agricultural lands are often targets of destruction by both the Israeli military and illegal settlers. In addition those Palestinians trying to export perishable good regularly face obstacles and/or the destruction of their produce by the occupation forces.
Related Link: http://www.ipsc.ie
Reactions to the boycotts from proponents of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians have cropped up, with the typical cry of anti-Semitism, in spite of the obvious human rights abuses entailed in growing these potatoes. An IPSC commenter drew attention to this one against Belgian boycott activities, but it could apply as equally well to the Irish effort.
Boycott Israel?
Critics of Israel’s government policies have been calling for years to boycott Israel.
The Dutch and the even more radical Flemish Palestine Committees have even made a special website for it, in which ad absurdum one-sided demands on Israel are made. Among all the cruel dictatorships still existing in the world, they feel that only the Jewish state should be singled out for boycotting, while its dictatorial neighbour countries keep supporting violence against Israel unhindered. Only 1 comparison fits here:
This will surely arouse protests among boycott-activists, but this comparison (is) the only way to express our outrage over their mendacious propaganda, which often borders on anti-Semitism, and occasionally crosses the border.
This is not an unusual tact on the part of Israel government supporters. Israel exploited Palestinians by growing potatoes on occupied (stolen) Palestinian land with stolen Palestinian water, and then react to protests of their sale by making accusations of anti-Semitism, because only Israel is singled out. Yet it is not possible to find any other country that is occupying another people while colonizing its land, subjugating its people, for no less than 40 years, and then using its resources for personal gain.
This site led to older news about additional boycotts and divestment campaigns in the Netherlands and in Belgium by the Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee, as follows:
‘Don’t buy fruits of occupation’: Activists take Israeli goods out of supermarket shelves
Vlaams Palestina Komitee | http://www.boycotisrael.info | December 4, 2005
On Saturday December 3, 2005, in Flanders, Belgium, the Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee supported the campaign for sanctions against Israeli occupation, by setting up a boycott campaign of Israeli goods.
Since Belgium is one of Israel’s biggest trading partners, a lot of Israeli goods are sold in the supermarkets. Trademarks such as Jaffa and Carmel for fruit and vegetables are well known, but also Sabra prepared mediterranean salads, Tivall vegetarian meals, and Yarden wine could be found.
Recent actions took place last December, as activists took all Israeli products out of the shelves in a supermarket. At the entrance, customers could get more information about the campaign. The scope is to attract attention and raise awareness about the impact of a consumer’s boycott. If governments refuse to take their responsibility under international law and pressure Israel to stop the occupation, individuals can pressure their governments through consumer’s behaviour.
The Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee is planning more actions in the future, backing the call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions raised by 170 Palestinian Civil Society organisations last July.
This site was filled with other news about protest activities all over Europe which deserves a separate diary. Later.