Innovative Minds © 2014. All Rights Reserved. www.inminds.co.uk
|
[Boycott - Economic - Europe] Palestine Solidarity Settlement created in Brighton Supermarket
Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity, www.brightonpalestine.org 20 July 2010 Activists in Brighton set up a 'Palestine Solidarity Settlement' in Waitrose supermarket to protest against the demolition of Palestinian homes to clear land for Israeli settlements.
Brighton Waitrose, 20 July 2010
About 15 activists erected a tent in the fruit and veg aisle whilst it was busy with shoppers. They filled baskets with Israeli goods, spoke to shoppers and distributed information about the 23 Palestinian homes in Al Farisiya that had been demolished by the Israeli Army the day before on 19th July. They explained to shoppers that the families from Al Farisiya had been living there for years, and that Israel is making them homeless so they can expand their settlements. By selling goods from Israel Waitrose is helping the settlements to make a profit from the produce they grow on land stolen from Palestinians like the families in Al Farisiya.
Demolitions in Al Farisiya, 19 July 2010
A representative of Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity handed a letter to the Manager calling on them to stop selling Israeli goods. He said: "We demand that your company respects the basic human rights of these Palestinian farmers ...by refusing to stock Israeli and Israeli settlement goods until such time as the occupation of Palestine is over and the Palestinians are accorded their full full human and political rights by the Israeli administration as laid out by international custom and law."
The vast majority of shoppers were very supportive, but Waitrose management were furious as they waited over and hour for the police to arrive. In the meantime the the 'solidarity settlement' got comfy, accompanied by some whistle playing, in their tent decorated with messages of support and photos from Palestine.
Brighton Waitrose, 20 July 2010
Those doing their shopping were keen to know what products were Israeli so they could avoid buying them. They were told about tropical fruit, herbs, jaffa oranges, dates, and even potatoes that are imported from Israel. Waitrose also stock Yarden hummous, babaganoush, dips, and cold/frozen meats, plus tivalli vegetarian saugages and burgers.
These were held up during the protest to show shoppers.
The full text of the letter that was handed in was as follows:
Dear madam/sir,
I am writing on behalf of the Jordan Valley Solidarity Group to express our outrage at Waitrose continuing to stock large amounts of Israeli and illegal Israeli settlement goods for sale to the public.
Recently there have been 23 house demolitions,(civilians property), in the village of Al Farisya in The West Bank, Occupied Palestine. These villagers are peasants with nowhere else to run to who have farmed these lands for generations. Their land is being stolen by a space age army in order to enlarge local illegal Israeli settlements whose produce is being sold in supermarkets across Britain.
We demand that your company respects the basic human rights of these Palestinian farmers and the many more in this perilous situation by refusing to stock Israeli and Israeli settlement goods until such time as the occupation of Palestine is over and the Palestinians are accorded their full full human and political rights by the Israeli administration as laid out by international custom and law.
Considering how much more ethical waitrose appears to be from most supermarkets, in the case of supporting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their ancestral lands you are, disappointingly, the worst offender. Many of us are customers here and intend to withdraw our custom until you have cleared this matter up. In the meantime we find it necessary to ensure that the public is fully informed about the blood involved in the making of these products according to the Food Labelling Act of 1996.
Yours faithfully,
Simon Levin on behalf of the Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity
Brighton Waitrose, 20 July 2010
Source: http://www.brightonpalestine.org/node/642
Related Articles
Also Of Interest
Page URL: http://inminds.co.uk/article.php?id=10464
|
|
Support Us
If you agree with our work then please support us.
INMINDS Facebook Live Feed
Featured Video's
You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.
Featured MP3 Podcast "[Deportation at the airport] We saw the injured [Turkish] men going through.. a lot had a leg cut out of their trousers or an arm cut out of their top. It had been cut out to treat their wounds.. they were covered in blood, blood that had been there for three days, and some of them had wounds that were still bleeding.. What upset me most was seeing the dozen men, one after another, hobbling across the terminal, with a bandaged foot. I couldn't ask them why so many of them had a bandaged foot, I couldn't ask them what had happened, because if they spoke or if any of us spoke to them the Israelis beat the injured person.. We later found out that they had these injuries on the tops of their feet from when the troops came down from the helicopter on the Mavi Marmara, and they came down firing - they had been shot from above. Some of the men that were killed were shot at close range - head and chest, but a dozen of the men who were shot, among 59 people who were shot, they were shot at the tops of their feet - the bullets were coming down.. They weren't given a wheelchair or a pair of crutches, and if any of the other passengers stood up and tried to offer [help].. that person was dragged away and smacked by these Israelis. The Israeli soldiers sat on the floor, laughed and sniggered and made every one of these Turkish men hobble and hop all the way across, some 200 metres, everyone of them, one by one, made to do that purely for the sick amusement of the Israeli soldiers." Survivor of the flotilla massacre speaks candidly of her experience Ratstar Centre London, 22 July 2010 [46min / 42Mb] [need flash]
Boycott Israel Campaign
|
|