June 4 - The global boycott of Israel is growing silently
Article: Israel And The Last Days
In April 2012, the Co-operative, Britain’s fifth-largest food retailer, declared it would no longer be importing agricultural produce from the territories or any Israeli supplier linked to produce from there. Five years earlier, retail giant Marks & Spencer announced that it was boycotting products from the West Bank, while the Tesco supermarket chain stopped marketing dates from the Jordan Valley.
And they are not alone: Over the past few years, numerous other companies from various countries around the world have announced some kind of a boycott of Israeli goods or companies. "A consumer boycott of Israeli goods primarily affects agricultural and fresh produce, as it is marked as made in Israel," says Israel Export Institute chairman Ramzi Gabbay. "Most of the Israeli industrial exports are unmarked so even if there is a boycott, it's an unofficial one imposed by an individual business that prefers not to work with Israel."
"Unlike in the case of many industrial products, we are required to stipulate the country of origin on the fruit so that the customer can tell where the produce comes from. During Operation Protective Edge, Muslim customers went into the retail chains, particularly in Scandinavia and France, and threw our produce on the floor and sparked unrest. "In other places, they staged demonstrations outside supermarkets. Even if the chain holds our goods and their quality in high regard, the buyer apologizes and says that the chain doesn't want any trouble and doesn't want to upset its public, and therefore it won't buy from us."
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