Occupied Palestine, 11 November 2011 – Export of Israeli agricultural produce is at the heart of Israel”s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people. It is an integral component of the ongoing process of colonisation and environmental destruction of Palestinian land, the theft of water, and the abuse of Palestinian workers” rights.[1] For decades, Israeli agricultural enterprises and farms have exploited land that was illegally expropriated from Palestinians and water that rightly belongs to Palestinians.[2] This is most pronounced in the Jordan Valley area of the occupied Palestinian territory. Europe is the biggest market for Israeli agricultural produce.[3]

Mehadrin and all Israeli agricultural exporters profit from the sale of the fruits of Israeli apartheid and are often themselves directly involved in the colonisation of Palestinian land and resources and the exploitation of Palestinian labour.[5] Exposing the complicity of these companies, building boycotts of their produce and pressuring wholesalers and retailers not to trade with them is an effective and vital form of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality.

The European-wide campaign against Agrexco, previously Israel”s main agricultural exporter, was a huge success and a major factor behind the company”s financial crisis.[4] Campaigns combining popular BDS action, media efforts and lobbying have led to a number of European supermarkets developing policies that claim to prevent the sale of settlement produce. Now is the time to move the campaign to the next stage: taking action against all Israeli agricultural export companies to ensure they can no longer sell their apartheid produce in Europe.

This November, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the broadest Palestinian civil society coalition, is joining its partners in Europe in calling on solidarity organisations, trade unions, NGOs, and people of conscience across Europe to participate in Take Apartheid off the Menu!, A European Day of Action Against Israeli Agricultural Exporters.

Creative and popular actions will build the consumer boycott of Israeli goods and help launch and build strategic, well planned and long term campaigns against Mehadrin and other Israeli agricultural export companies that are at the core of Israeli occupation, colonialism and apartheid.

Let”s Take Apartheid off the Menu!

Get involved:

– Find out more about which Israeli agricultural export companies your local supermarkets are dealing with, and use the action day to build a long term campaign to end the relationship

– Contact info@bdsmovement.net to let us know about your plans, to find out more about an action that is planned in your area or for assistance in planning your own

[1]Ma”an Development Centre and Jordan Valley Popular Committees, Eye on the Jordan Valley
http://www.maan-ctr.org/pdfs/Eyeon%20theJVReportFinal.pdf

[2] Amnesty International, Thirsting for Justice: Palestinian Access to Water http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE15/028/2009/en

Ma”an Development Centre, Draining Away: The Water and Sanitation Crisis in the Jordan Valley
http://www.maan-ctr.org/pdfs/WateReport.pdf

[3] OECD, OECD 2010 Review of agricultural policies: Israel, p.50

[4] Shir Hever, Why did Agrexco go bankrupt?

http://www.jnews.org.uk/commentary/why-did-agrexco-go-bankrupt

[5] Following the collapse of Agrexco, Mehadrin is now the largest Israeli agricultural export company. For Mehadrin profile see

http://whoprofits.org/Company%20Info.php?id=967
For detailed information on the complicity of all major Israeli agricultural produce exporters see
Targeting Israeli Apartheid: a BDS Handbook by Corporate Watch http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=4103

or the relevant section of the Who Profits database maintained by the Coalition of Women for Peace at http://whoprofits.org/Search%20Results.php?search_companyName=&sStr=&search_involve=&search_industry=496&search_location=&search_globalPresence=
&search_settlement=&search_traded=&search_revenue=&search_revenueto=