I was shopping for dates for the month of Ramadan and I hardly found Palestinians dates, Medjoul, Jumbo, Cat1, this year in the Muslim shops. But I saw many markets and supermarkets selling israelis dates. You too show support to your community, buy Palestinians dates, oil and all sort of goods to help Palestinians trade their goods and resist the illegal occupation in the Holy lands.
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
If you buy a Medjool date, there’s a strong possibility that it is from an illegal settlement - grown on stolen land.
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, Kalahari, Karsten Farms, 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 also sells South African dates (Karsten Farms), the profits still go to Israel so must be boycotted. 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?Help Us Distribute Boycott Israeli Dates Leaflets
Its
simple - you don't need to join any groups, just get a couple of
friends together, order your free leaflets and start distributing!
With Ramadan rapidly approaching we need your help to get the message out to our people - Do Not Buy Israeli Dates. We need your help to distribute 'Boycott Israeli Dates' leaflets in your Mosques, your campuses, and your communities. Its simple - you don't need to join any organisations or facebook groups, just get a couple of friends together and order your leaflets. The leaflets are sent free of charge, just let us know how many you can distribute and we will send them.
This Ramadan don't just think of the Palestinians, but act!
Our beloved Prophet (SAW) has said "The Ummah are like one body: if the eye is in pain then the whole body is in pain..".
Today Palestine is bleeding..
http://www.inminds.com/boycott-israeli-dates.php
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