LONDON: Last week around 40 activists descended upon the popular British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s in Cromwell Street, West London. The action aimed to highlight the sale of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank which are internationally recognized as illegal. The campaigners held up examples of Israeli settlement produce for the shoppers to see, encouraging them to boycott the goods, stating that “every time we, as purchasers, we, as consumers, buy goods that are produced in Israel and inside settlements, we financially contribute to the oppression of Palestinians.†The activists, who came from an array of different organizations, had erected a tent, which they referred to as a “settlement,†in the center of the supermarket in an attempt to create an analogical reconstruction of the situation in the West Bank. “The ridiculous ease at which we’ve been able to set up and pop up this fake settlement, it reflects the ridiculous ease at which Israel goes about the West Bank popping up its settlements.†The campaigners then marched through the supermarket waving Palestinian flags and placards that read “Apartheid kills! Boycott Israeli goods.†This action is not the first of its kind; it is part of the global campaign Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) and is the latest in a series of supermarket protests that are taking place across the globe. On June 20 over 30 activists in Oakland and San Francisco participated in national Don't Buy Into Apartheid Day by de-shelving Israeli Goods from the US Grocery Store chain. It is a similar story in France when tens of activists entered a Paris branch of Carrefour and emptied its shelves of Israeli goods. Earlier this year, two Welsh campaigners were charged with theft for removing Israeli settlement produce from the British supermarket chain Tesco in Wales. The case was thrown out by the Judge John Diehl QC. Photos by Fil Kaler BM
