Help For Gaza Begins At The Till.

In Blog, Politicsby Ronan Burtenshaw39 Comments

BDS1

Activists carried out some actions in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement which targets Israeli apartheid. Ronan Burtenshaw sent us this report from those involved.

As Israel’s massacre in Gaza intensifies, activists carried out BDS actions after yesterday’s Dublin demo.

Here they explain their motivations and encourage others to join the boycott campaign against Israel:

This morning, after massive demonstrations of solidarity around the world with the people of Gaza, including thousands marching through the streets of Dublin, we woke to images of corpses lying in the streets of Shejaiya from Israel’s latest massacre. The media are reporting that at least forty people were killed over night, including many children, and tens of thousands have fled their homes.

Marches are important and it was encouraging to see so many people across the globe taking a stand against the violence Israel is committing – but the latest atrocity happening just hours afterwards shows that marches alone won’t be enough. Israel is an apartheid state, inflicting terror on Palestinians, and needs to be isolated from the international community.

For Palestinians to free themselves from Israel’s violence and achieve self-determination they will need decisive international solidarity. We need to build a mass campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) of the kind that helped to overthrow apartheid in South Africa.

Yesterday a number of us took a step in that direction. It was small but that’s how campaigns begin and it’s easy for people angered by what’s happening in Gaza to replicate it.

After the demonstration in Dublin we dropped into two Marks and Spencers, Grafton and Liffey Street. We gathered up all of Israeli products we could find – chopin potatoes, yellow plums, ripen-at-home plums, Bin merlot wine, deri and medjool dates – and filled trolleys. We took these trolleys to the checkout, asked to speak to the shop manager and made formal complaints about Marks and Spencers stocking products from Israel.

The workers were receptive (it’s important to be respectful to them in any action, they don’t decide what gets stocked) and other customers in the shop were made aware that it stocked Israeli goods – but it will take a wave of actions like this to make a chain like M&S change its policies. Other shops like Tesco, Aldi and Lidl also stock Israeli goods, you can find out more about them at this link.

You can also simply sticker Israeli goods as shown below – those stickers were produced by the Cork branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Consumer boycott is only one part of BDS – we also need the Irish government to expel the Israeli ambassador and break economic ties, Irish companies like Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) to divest and to build a comprehensive cultural and academic boycott. Many groups like the IPSC and Gaza Action Ireland organise actions in support of the boycott. Whichever way you can get involved the message is: Palestinians need your help.

Not a euro, not a dime – no more funding Israel’s crimes! Get active in the boycott campaign today!

Mick Farrell Lara Andolina Mariana Saad John Tighe Andy Moore (Sinn Féin – Republican Youth) Paddy Moloney (Sinn Féin – Republican Youth) Ronan Burtenshaw (ICTU Youth member)

 

Comments

    1. Sam
      it is explained in both the opening paragraph, and the main article body.

  1. Well are you really asking for justice in Palestine? What I know there is terrible violence from both sides. There can only be peace when the people of Palestine and the people of Israel say to their leaders enough. And our Leaders start to promote peace. Peace is the only way people can live successfully.

  2. Tesco baby potatoes are from Israel, found that out earlier today.

  3. Marks & Spencer donates to the Israeli cause because one of the founders, Marks, was Jewish. Boycott the whole store I say.

  4. great article and such a good idea about stocking the trolley and talking to the workers. i had other methods but this is better. Today in LIdl i noticed the organic spuds from Israel had been replaced with organic spuds from Italy. I hope the labels are true.

  5. Can someone explain why potatoes we are important potatoes from Israel? Is Ireland not stereotypically known for its potatoes?

  6. Cool that it satisfies the urge to do something, but as a tactic it is almost ineffective. It offers an easy way to do something, but is tgere anyone who can explain me how this will actually have effect?

  7. I would take these stickers with me on a shop outing. Where can I get them from?

  8. Well done to all involved. Hopefully more people take note and stores start removing Israeli products.

  9. Where do I go to boycott the missiles being fired by Hamas?

    1. U deluded person, u obviously don’t know anything. When Israel is killing thousands of Palestinians y is ur bum on fire when Palestinians retaliate with rockets. If someone bombed ur house would j sit they’d and smile at them. No u would bomb there house too. And this is me being kind to the Zionist state of Israel. Bloody bully’s.

  10. Dunnes Stores have two varieties of israeli baby potatoes

  11. Definitely going to do this. I’ve already sent letters to all grocers in my home town and will be spending my week visiting them in person. Well done everyone who’s getting involved in this!

    1. We don’t support any terror organisation. The only terrorists are Israel. They are also damn hypocrites. They should be the last ones doing this as they suffered something similar by hitler. They are the most evil of people. So get ur facts right. And look up the meaning of terrorist

  12. Hair product line Moroccian Oil is a product of ISRAEL it is widely stocked in the hairdressing sector throughout Irela d. Lets try and get this off the shelves. Lidl sell organic potatoes which I have bee trying to get removed also. Could I ask who would I contact to purchase those stickers?

  13. Interesting. Ireland receives €540 Million a year in Aid from Israel every year.

    The truth is that Israel buys €540 million of Irish products every year but some anti-Israel protestor told me that Israel receives billions in “aid” from the USA, by this he meant that US private companies invested in Israel and manufactured there, who am I to argue.

    So go ahead, boycott Israel and when they start boycotting €540 million a year of Irish products we can scream NOT FAIR!.

    Might as well throw out the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland as well, that should stop those nasty Israeli’s creating jobs in Ireland.

    1. Nope, the protester was probably referring to the billions of dollars in *actual* aid that the US gives to Israel . . . you know, the $8.5 million per day that the US gives Israel in military aid alone. Loans and aid alone to Israel cost US taxpayers $134,791,507,200 from ’49-97, never mind manufacturing and investment.

      That said, I think you’re right to draw a parallel between aid and trade, in so far as preferential trading agreements aid governments to fund themselves and their operations. That’s pretty much the point of BDS: trade with Israel funds the Israeli government and helps it maintain its operations. Every sum handed over, even for modest individual purchases of Israeli products, involves a proportion of the money being channeled back to the Israeli government . Once ordinary, decent people make this connection, many cannot stomach the thought of their money being used to perpetuate operations as horrific as the one currently underway in Gaza, so it makes sense for them not buy Israeli products.

      If the BDS campaign becomes widespread and Israelis decide to stop buying other nations’ products in retaliation, that’s their choice and of course we’ll accept it as fair. €540 million is a significant amount of trade but it’s not enough for you to purchase our clean national conscience.

      1. Might come as a shocking suggestion to you but perhaps some things are more important than having a price tag hung around them instead of a conscience. Was it important to get to the bottom of institutionalised child abuse in Ireland? It cost a lot for money. Maybe for people like you, it was a waste of time because there was no net profit to extrapolate. I feel sure that underneath your complete over-emphasis on the significance of Israel to the Irish economy, lies an affinity to the Zionist cause. You can do your part for the cause of wanton infanticide by shopping in marks and sparks and buying those israeli goods that are so important to you. M&S give Saturday profits in Ireland to the cause (alledgely) so hey, if you buy enough stuff you might go some way towards paying for those hellfire missiles the use to blow up ambulances, homes for the disable with patients still in then and such. The marvelous, kindly folk if the IDF need your help….buy those spuds and don’t be shy about your love for Israel….I can see you are blushing with adour …

  14. Pingback: Help For Gaza Begins At The Till | Boycott Israel

  15. Boycott Israeli Apartheid stickers.
    Good use of these is to cover the price info on supermarket shelving. prominent and a good barrier to purchase,

    Have been repeating process in Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda. Common Israeli goods are Dates, Thyme, Potatoes, Mango, and other exotic fruit. (brands) OSEM, TIVALL

    Hope fully an effective means of applying peaceful pressure to Israel.

  16. ‘Boycott Israeli Apartheid’ Stickers.

    Order from ‘Palestinian Solidarity Campaign’ website

  17. Pingback: Mandate Trade Union calls on retailers to cease sourcing goods from occupied territories in Israel – Mandate

Leave a Reply to Joe Burns Cancel reply