**PRESS RELEASE**

The Fair Play Campaign Group today expressed concern at the publication of a report targeting kosher shops in Britain.

The report, commissioned by a SOAS department and written by a Dutch company, purports to investigate “UK economic links with Israeli settlements”.

However, it also lists the names and addresses of four kosher food retailers in Britain, claiming these shops stock foods that might be produced in the West Bank. Although hundreds of small independent retailers stock these goods, these shops are not included; small kosher shops are disproportionately targeted alongside the major supermarkets.

Members of the Fair Play Campaign Group’s Board commented on the release of the report: -

Jon Benjamin, CEO of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said

Kosher shops are disproportionately targeted by this sinister and misleading report. SOAS should never have paid a Dutch company to write what is effectively a handbook for boycotting Israeli and Jewish companies.

Jeremy Newmark, CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council, said:

We warned the Government that promoting sanctions against ‘settlement goods’ would encourage those pressing for a full boycott of Israel – this confirms our fears. Worse still, support for this boycott has seamlessly become an attack on Jewish companies and individuals here in Britain. The targeting of kosher shops takes us into very disturbing territory.

ENDS