Israel out of Co-op & Scotmid Stores

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign have initiated a campaign to get 'Israel out of the Co-op/Scotmid', and campaigners have been leafleting outside Scotmid stores to raise awareness among customers.

Please actively support the boycott campaign with the following actions:

- Drop in to your local Co-op/Scotmid store and ask to speak to the manager, saying that you feel they should no longer stock products from Israel.

- Contact the Co-operative Group directly (who are responsible for Scotmid and other Co-op stores) making it clear that you feel they should no longer stock Israeli goods (See sample letter below as a basis for your letter / comments / phone call).

Write to:   The Co-operative Group, FREEPOST, MR9473, Manchester M4 8BA

Call:         0800 0686 727

Email:      customer.relations@co-op.co.uk

- Distribute the Israel out of the Co-op/Scotmid leaflet (click for pdf download), hand it out to customers outside your local Co-op/Scotmid store, leave it on shelves of Israeli produce (mixed bags of yellow/red/orange peppers, organic salad potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, some fresh herbs, Jaffa brand fruits, and other produce: check the label for country of origin).


Sample letter to Co-operative Group Customer Relations:

Boycott Israel Campaign and Co-op Group

As a result of Israel’s war in Gaza, with its death toll of over 1,300 Palestinians and allegations of multiple war crimes, there has been a large upsurge in support for the already growing global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it fully complies with its obligations under international law and recognises the fundamental human rights of Palestinians.

 The international BDS campaign was initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organisations, representing the full spectrum of Palestinian civil society. Since then, many more prominent figures and organisations have joined to back the campaign (including the President of the United Nations General Assembly), and consumer support for a boycott of Israeli goods has also grown significantly (“Consumers saying no to Israeli produce”: International Supermarket News, 19 January 2009). Calls for a boycott can no longer be ignored.

 A common argument against boycott is the impact it could have on individuals and communities not directly involved, and that it could hurt the very people it is supposed to help - in the case of Israel, Palestinian workers and families dependent on the Israeli economy. Yet the overwhelming majority of Palestinian civil society organisations are pleading with us to “Boycott Israel Now!” (Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, 27 December 2008). In the words of Omar Barghouti, founding member of the Palestinian BDS Campaign, "A call signed by more than 170 Palestinian political parties, unions, non-governmental organizations and networks, representing the entire spectrum of Palestinian civil society… cannot be ‘counter-productive’ unless Palestinians are not rational or intelligent enough to know or articulate what is in their best interest".

 It is worth noting that a boycott is also supported by many Israeli citizens: "We appeal to the citizens of Europe: please attend to the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation's call: boycott Israeli goods and Israeli institutions" (letter signed by several Israeli academics and other Israeli citizens, published in the Guardian, 17 January 2009. The boycott call was also made in an open letter published on the same day on the freegaza.org website and signed by more than 540 Israeli citizens).

 History ultimately proved the effectiveness and necessity of the boycott campaign in helping bring an end to Apartheid in South Africa. Amid the desperate pleas of Palestinians and concerned Israelis, we can no longer resort to the same discredited arguments that were used against boycotting Apartheid South Africa.

Over the last few weeks campaigners have targeted dozens of supermarkets across the UK with pickets, 'die-in' protests, leafleting and other awareness-raising actions. Campaigners across Scotland are currently planning awareness-raising actions at supermarkets in their neighbourhoods. Many of these campaigners are Co-op/Scotmid customers, who appreciate the commitment Scotmid has so far made to ethical and fair trading, but see its current stocking of Israeli products as incompatible with a true, credible and consistent ethical stance. 

I am now writing to you to express my expectation that the Co-op Group/Scotmid, with its willingness to lead and "if necessary break ranks with industry" and its stated committment to supporting human rights, will become the first major supermarket to withdraw Israeli products from its shelves until the conditions of the BDS campaign are met. I welcome the steps made towards removing goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements, but this merely brings the company into compliance with the requirements of existing international law and therefore does not go far enough. In accordance with the international BDS campaign, I am asking that the Co-op Group/Scotmid joins a general boycott of Israeli products. I believe that the majority of customers would support this, even if it resulted in a small reduction in product range or availability. the Co-op Group/Scotmid's reputation as an ‘ethical’ supermarket would be greatly enhanced by such a move.

Yours faithfully,