Open Letter To Co-op: Time to Boycott Israel

Like many co-operators I have been delighted with the run of good news about the Co-op Group and co-operatives of late. The decision to put ethics at the centre of our branding following the example of the Co-op Bank has proved to be a master stroke. Now at a time of recession when trust, such a vital comment of any retailer’s relations with its customers, is at a premium it could really come into its own. We have seen some stunning marketing of late making all co-operators proud of the whole co-operative ethic.

Our role in the fair trade movement has been exemplary and the range and quality of fair trade products sold in our stores is second to none. I was especially pleased given the difficulties the producers face that we are to begin selling Palestinian fair trade olive oil sourced from co-operative sources in some of our stores from the end of March. Olive oil exports are a vital ingredient in the viability of a future Palestinian state.

This brings me to the black spot on this fine record. I fully appreciate that we in the British Co-operative movement have long standing relationships with the Israeli Co-operative movement directly with co-operative organisations in Israel and through the ICA. Indeed there was a time when Israel seemed to be pursuing the kind of democratic socialism, many of us had dreamed of, with the Kibbutz movement, the Histradut and the co-operative movement it looked like a genuine ‘promised land’.

Many people in the 1950’s and 60’s looked to Israel like some had looked to the Soviet Union in the 1930’s. Now we have to face the sad fact that we where wrong. The recent attacks on Gaza and the elections in Israel have produced really shocking results. The complaint from Israel for many years was that they had no one to negotiate with now it is the Palestinians who have no one to negotiate with.

In January Len Wardle, Co-operative Group chair, wrote:

"The Co-operative Group board has decided to suspend sourcing products from illegal West Bank settlements. However, we will continue to trade with Israel and will seek to develop trading links with Palestinian farmers. The Co-operative Group only rarely curtails trade with particular countries or regions. However, in the case of the illegal settlement in the Israeli controlled occupied territories, it has proven to be all but impossible to ensure that supplies derived from the region are not perpetuating injustice and unfair terms of trade. We will no longer source dates, grapes and a number of herbs from the illegal West Bank settlements and will be phasing out the use of similar items from our own brand products."

Full marks then for developing links with Palestinian farmers and as Somerfield has sold products from the occupied territories at least we can put a stop to that but is our position tenable? With no end in sight to the occupation and settlements growing how can we be asked to police produce labelled as Israel is not come from settlements in the occupied territories?

If as Len points out “it has proven to be all but impossible to ensure that supplies derived from the region are not perpetuating injustice and unfair terms of trade”.
There is only one ethical course of action. There are numerous examples of mislabelling of produce we can not be asked to police this ourselves and in a way this misses the point. It is Israel that is undertaking an occupation that has gone on for far too long and we should therefore admit sadly that we have to stop sourcing produce from Israel whilst the occupation continues. Anything less would be hypocritical and would be undermining our own ethical principles.

In many ways we dragged our feet on apartheid South Africa lets us not make that mistake again.