BUYcott Israeli goods at Waitrose and Morrisons!
7th—14th November
For a week from the 7th of November, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is targeting Waitrose and Morrisons as part of their supermarket boycott campaign. They are asking their supporters to send emails and letters to Waitrose and Morrisons, to hold demonstrations outside local stores, and they plan to inundate their Head Offices with phone calls.
The PSC’s goal is for these supermarkets to boycott Israeli goods. They are focusing on goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights, but are also campaigning for a total boycott of Israel.
Boycotts are not an effective way of moving forward or achieving peace. They target all Israelis (Jews and Arabs), but impact on the Palestinian economy as well as Israel’s, because the two markets and societies are so deeply entwined.
In response to this, we are calling for a BUYcott of Israeli goods in these shops. Starting from Saturday night on the 7th of November, we call on all friends of Israel to:
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Go to Waitrose or Morrisons that week and buy goods from Israel
Look out especially for fresh fruit and vegetables and for Israeli wine. If you need help finding them, ask the supermarket staff and explain why you are buying Israeli goods.
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Write to your local store manager
Thank them for stocking Israeli goods and explain that boycotts have no positive outcomes and impact adversely on all of the inhabitants of the region. You might suggest additional products for them to stock.
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Write a letter or email to the Head Offices of these supermarkets
Explain that boycotting Israeli goods will do nothing to further the peace process and will damage the livelihoods of local farmers and workers.
MORRISONS
Customer Service DepartmentWm Morrison Supermarkets PLC
Hilmore House
Gain Lane
Bradford
BD3 7DL
WAITROSE
Waitrose Customer Service DepartmentWaitrose Limited
Doncastle Road
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8YA
customer_service@waitrose.co.uk
We are running this campaign with the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
Download a PDF of the text above that can be put up on a bulletin-board.
Action alerts
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Thanks for giving us the “heads up” on this.
Well done . I always look for Israeli goods whenever I shop at the major supermarkets. We will not be dictated to by certain groups as to where and whose goods we buy. I will be buying goods in Isarel this week. Israel has my support always.
ER
I HAVE TODAY BEEN ON TO WAITROSE AND MORRISONS HEAD OFFICES THEY SAY THEY DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE BOYCOTT AND PRETENDED THEY WERE VERY UPSET AND WOULD CERTAINLY TRY TO STOP IT GOING AHEAD.DO YOU BELIEVE THEM? I THINK NOT
Pauline,
We have been in contact with the supermarkets to let them know about both campaigns.
These two supermarkets are being targeted by anti-Israel boycotters because they aren’t boycotting Israel. We are running this campaign to support their positive stance.
-the Fair Play Campaign Group.
I am a supporter o Israel and have viisted the country many times and would rather be there than in the uk at present. I have come to know of God,s love for his ancient people over the last 12 to 13 years and this campaign will not only hurt the Jewish people but the Arab ones as well.
I have told the local manager at our nearest Morrisons stores in Risca of this proposed demostartion and also I have e-mailed the Waitrose head offices today.
I hope that we can help these stores to not give into these threats of disruption and that they will take it seriously.
Every blessing.
JOHN
I have also been in touch with the supermarkets concerned, I have reminded them of their duty of care to their customers.
That they be able to shop without fear of intimidation. Also that the blocking of the public highway by these demonstrators (a kind of third party picket) is an offence.
I await their response with interest.
I heard there are going to be anti-Israel boycotters at the Brent Cross thing, is that true?
Either way, see all you BUYcotters there!
Hi,
I support your BUYcott campaign re Waitrose and Morrisons,
But it would be much more succesful if you would publish for us on this website the actual specific fresh fruit and veg from Israel which we should buy.
Many supporters will be too shy to ask shop assistants for directions.
i am a part of a group of christians who love and support israel from wirral and chester, we were made aware of this boycott, and in response, i managed to purchase 8 different kinds of israeli produce from morrisons in chester, some were almost sold out! so well done to morrisons in chester and i pray this boycott will be turned around to bless israel
I always buy as much Israeli produce as I can on every shopping trip – in this way, I can undo the “work” of several boycotters. The Buycott Israel website has a list of produce at both these supermarkets to look out for (see UK alert at the top). Additionally, I have written to both supermarkets – the Zionist Federation have mentioned this important letter writing campaign as well, as the supermarkets should know they have support. If we all pull together, we can make sure this disgusting and hateful “boycott” is a complete flop!
Thanks Adam.
Our friends at the Canadian Buycott Israel site do have a suggested list of goods, but we haven’t verified it ourselves yet. Different stores will have different products. The only way to be sure is to look – fresh fruit and veggies, herbs, kosher wine and frozen vegetarian food are good places to start.
Hi, just to let you know that Waitrose in Finchley Road NW3 have these Israeli fresh products at the moment: Mangoes (three for two), Pomegranates, Red Grapefruit, Organic dates in packets, organic cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and tarragon, plus all the yarden products and various chocolates and cakes. There is no Israeli wine left. I bought 4 bottles last week and there hasn’t been any more added. I’ve written to my local manager thanking him for their support and telling him I will be particularly supporting Israeli goods this week and have also emailed head office. I fear they are already being inundated with emails from the other lot as I had an automatic reply. I have in fact decided to buy a substantial amount of Israeli products and am handing them out to friends and family. Thanks for alerting us to this campaign.
Just to let you know that today I bought lots of delicious Israeli sharon fruit and really good quality mixed Israeli peppers from Waitrose at the Spires shopping centre in Hight St Barnet. Well done, Waitrose.
Dear friends,
We are so happy to see people worldwide pick up on this initiative.
I’d like to share a couple of impressions from our experience here in Canada. The first thing to remember is that just as boycott is a propoganda strategy (more than an economic strategy), so, too, is BUYcott. What that emans in practice is that it is more than just going and buying Israeli goods. It means just what you’re doing with Waitrose and Morrisons: tactically deploying activists to buy up Israeli goods in response to a boycott.
The key is to TAKE PICTURES (videos are better still) of you and your friends clearing out the stock, and post them on youtube afterwards. Do thank the store for carrying the merchandise (the person who commented that the store management was unaware and unhappy about the boycott sends an important message about positively reinforcing the store managers who after all just want to turn a profit) and publish (on the web, in local Jewish media, wherever) your success.
You don’t want to get into an argument with the boycotters, or create any sort of obstruction or headache for the store, or behave in a way that will cause passerby to think “a plague on both their houses”. The idea is really to humilliate the boycotters in your follow up communications.
By the way, we did a BUYcott of Ahava in Montreal last weekend, and the store had to put on an additional cashier to handle the demand. They tossed the boycott fellow out (security guard shoved him right out the door!. )
Gratified to learn that the response to the boycott has been so successful. I have learned that to speak out, to act in support of just causes, such as Buycott, is the most effective action one can take in defense of human rights.
It is heart breaking to see the UN, which in my memory, had such a promising beginning become a tool of tyrannical forces. Now it seems that only through individual acts to defend our brothers and sisters from harm can we hope to promote peace.May we all gain success in this pursuit.
Rhoda Boughton
Well done you guys, I just read this report from the Jerusalem Post:-
‘Call to boycott Israeli goods had no impact on trade’
LONDON – Last week’s call by anti-Israel activists for people to boycott Israeli goods at two of the UK’s largest supermarkets appears to have passed with no major impact.
Radical fringe group Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) called for a week of boycott action and protests against Morrison’s and Waitrose supermarkets and said they would flood the supermarket’s help lines with nuisance calls throughout the day on Wednesday.
Morrison’s declined to comment but Waitrose declared there had been no impact at all on trade during the week.
“Our customer services department has responded to calls in their normal way,” a Waitrose spokesperson said.
Read More
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1258027288768
[...] FairPlay Jerusalem Post [...]
Hi
Just to say: some of these so called activists ’stormed’ Waitrose Marble Arch while I was shopping on Friday 13 November 2009 and unfurled their hate-spreading banner calling for the boycott of Israeli products. I was pleased to see that while one such ‘protester’ ranted and raved about the apparent terrorizing of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers (laughably manipulated and inaccurate), a Muslim woman stepped up and told him and his cronies, that hateful protests such as theirs, would only make her buy more Israeli products. She then gave them what for about Hamas’ barbaric methods of government, which left the activists, somewhat lost for words, as they were clearly hoping to score points by ‘protesting’ at a supermarket in the heart of Arab London. As she put it, they were promoting hate, not peace. She called their protest “anti-semitic”. I joined her denouncing the protesters. Afterwards, at the checkout, as per usual, my basket was filled with deliberately hand-picked Israeli produce.
Nick Johnstone
I wish I would have read it earlier… In fact, I saw a demonstration in front of Waitrose at Brunswick Square, but I didn’t realise that it was a boycott campaign against products from Israel. From now on I’ll pay more attention to buying specifically Israeli products. Their fruits, vegs and herbs anyway mostly have better quality then cheaper products from other countries so it’s also a good opportunity to do something good for myself.
I always look for Israeli products when I’m buying fruit and vegetables. If they don’t stock them, I don’t buy any!
Anyone boycotting Israeli produce has no idea of what’s going on over there! They are happily being brainwashed by the anti-Semitic British media!
It seems you missed the Israel: Off Your Trolley event in Newcastle Upon Tyne which managed to enter several shops within the city centre flashmob style and will be creating more events of a similar nature in the very near future. Google the event, there are many listings, how did you miss this??
I’m a long standing supporter of Israel and try to purchase goods from the settlements when ever I can. I agree that a boycott of Israeli goods would also hurt the Arabs, they are reliant on Israeli goods as their prodcution economy has collapsed due to successful restrictions. Perhaps there should be a food festival where we could promote these goods and show the world how we have rolled back the dessert.