In Flanders, Belgium, the Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee has stepped up its boycott campaign of Israeli goods. At the beginning of December, a coordinated action to remove Israeli goods from the shelves grabbed the attention of consumers and supermarket directors in some of the largest Flemish cities.
Belgium is one of Israel’s biggest trading partners and a lot of Israeli goods are sold in its supermakets. Trademarks such as Jaffa and Carmel for fruit and vegetables are well known, but Sabra mediterranean salads, Tivall vegetarian meals and Yarden wine could also be found.
The Flemish Palestine Campaign had already some time ago addressed the leading supermarket chains – Carrefour, Colruyt en Delhaize – asking them to deshelve Israeli products. Receiving no response, activists took the matter into their own hands.
On the 3rd of December, a coordinated initiative saw Palestine activists leafletting and raising awareness about the importance of a widespread consumer boycott of Israeli goods. In Antwerpen activists took Israeli products off the shelves in a supermarket and left the full trolleys with boycott placards on top in full public view. Meanwhile, in Leuven, the Palestine Campaign also removed Israeli goods completely from a supermarket, again leaving trolleys full of Israeli products complete with calls for boycott at the counter.
The Flemish Palestine Campaign states that âif governments refuse to take their responsibility under international law and pressure Israel to stop the occupation, individuals can pressure their govenments through consumer’s behaviour.â The Campaign is determined to continue such economic pressure and is planning further action in the near future in support of the Palestinian call to Isolate Apartheid Israel.
For more see: https://www.boycotisrael.info
***image2***