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http://redressnewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/boycott-israel-list-of-oroducts-from.html

Herbs inside the Halpert Moshe Packing House
Despite increased publicity regarding the labelling of Israeli settlement produce, and the recent DEFRA guidance on the matter which states that produce from the settlements should be labelled as such, it only took us a few minutes inside the illegal Jordan Valley settlement of Mehola to find herbs bound for a British company being mislabelled. Herbs bearing the logo of Fresh Direct, who have their head office in Oxfordshire, were spotted inside the Halpert Moshe ‘fresh herbs’ packing house which operates under the Carmel Agrexco banner.
At this location herbs being prepared came with a joint Fresh Direct/Carmel Agrexco label which clearly states the product as being “Produce of Israel”, despite being packaged in an organic farm on an illegal settlement in the Israeli occupied West Bank.

The label we collected was for 70 grams of sage with the text written in English, indicating that the contents were intended for export to Britain. There were
also herbs labelled in German (without the Fresh Direct logo) inside the packing house.
Not only does this kind of labelling go against the the call for a distinction to be made between settlement and Palestinian produce -it goes one step further by not even acknowledging that the product is grown in the West Bank. The DEFRA advice regarding labelling of settlement produce, published in December 2009, is clear about the illegality of this practice: “the Government considers that traders would be misleading consumers, and would therefore almost be certainly committing an offence, if they were to declare produce from the OPT (including from the West Bank) as ‘Produce of Israel’. This would apply irrespective of whether the produce was from a Palestinian producer or from an Israeli settlement in the OPT. This is because the area does not fall within the internationally recognised borders of the state of Israel” (to read the full advice from DEFRA see http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/labelling-palestine.pdf).

The particular label that we collected contains the “traceability” number 08209306 and the grower ID number 675256. If there are any organic farmers out there who know what this means and fancy helping us out, please send us an email on contact@corporatewatch.org

Fresh Direct have local branches all across Britain, as well as an office in the United Arab Emirates. Their head office address is Freshdirect (UK) Ltd, Bicester Distribution Park, Charbridge Way, Bicester, Oxfordshire OX26 4SW , phone 01869 365600. For local branches see http://www.freshdirect.co.uk/contact.aspx

Israel is about to be admitted to an exclusive economic club, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Despite the Government of Israel’s failure to comply with OECD demands and standards, the organization announced in January 2010 that it will “complete” Israel’s membership by 2010 (expected in May). However, the OECD needs consensus to admit a new member state into the organization, so it only takes ONE country’s dissent to stop Israel from joining until it has met international human rights standards. The Israeli Government has yet to comply with the Goldstone Recommendations and until it does, admission to the OECD should be withheld.

We are gathering signatures to be delivered before the OECD Council meeting on May 11, 2010 and then more signatures before the Ministerial meeting on May 28-29.

Please sign the petition and
forward to your friends and colleagues.

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) appeals to peoples and governments of OECD member states to defer Israel’s OECD accession until it respects international law and the human rights of the Palestinian people and shows commitment to the fundamental values shared by OECD members. You can read more about the appeal here.

full text here

Bethlehem – Ma’an – In anticipation of Nakba commemoration day next month, Palestinian student and youth groups across the West Bank and Gaza signed a memorandum enacting a massive boycott of Israeli products and programs.

The document calls for a halt to any activities that could normalize relations between Palestine and Israel.

“Economic, political, cultural and institutional normalization legitimize Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people by giving the appearance of normalcy to the relationship between oppressor and oppressed. This relationship is hardly one between equals as Israel continues to violate our inalienable rights, steal our land, and prevent refugees from our right of return in contravention of international law and numerous UN resolutions,” a statement from the student groups said.

The memorandum went on to describe a series of measures the students intended to apply on or before 15 May, when Palestinians commemorate the 1948 expulsion of hundreds of thousands from their homes that lead to the declaration of an Israeli state.

More than list the elements of the boycott, the students asserted “our right to resist Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people through all forms of resistance and in accordance to international law, including forms of civil resistance such as demonstrations, sits-ins and, boycotts of Israel.”

The students declared adherence to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BDS) and said they would reject “any Israeli-Palestinian meetings that do not recognize our inalienable rights, and explicitly aim to resist Israel’s occupation, colonization and apartheid.”

The student statement said the participating groups would “refuse to take part in whitewashing Israel’s public image,” and that “meetings that are not committed to such principles give a false picture of equality between the two parties by ignoring and legitimizing Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people.”

The petition was endorsed by the following university councils:

Birzeit University’s student council
An-Najah University’s student council and the majority of student blocks on campus
Hebron University’s student council
Bethlehem University’s student council
Arab American University in Jenin’ student council
Al-Quds University’s student council
Palestine Technical College’s student council -Aroub
Al-Quds Open University’s student council-Tulkarem
Al-Quds Open University’s student council-Qalqiliya
Palestine Technical College’s student council – Khadouri
The Palestinian Student Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)
Progressive Student Union Bloc-Gaza
Fateh Youth Organization- Gaza
Progressive Student Labor Front-Gaza
Islamic Bloc-Gaza
Islamic League of Palestinian Student s- Gaza
Student Unity Bloc-Gaza
Union of Youth Activity Centers in Palestinian Refugee Camps
Palestinian Youth Network-all branches
General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) -Chile
General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) -Colombia
General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) -France
General Union for Palestinian Youth
Palestinian Federation -Chile
Palestinian Federation- Argentine
US Palestinian Communities Network (USPCN)
Palestinian Community of Catalonia

And the following youth groups:

Center for Argentinean – Palestinian Friendship- Rosario/Argentina
Arab Youth for Palestine Valdivia/ Chile
Arab Youth for Valparaiso – Via Del Mar/Chile
Arab Youth of Concepcion – Concepcion /Chile
The youth group of the Evan Lutheran Church – Beit Sahour
Sheppard’s Scouts Troup – Beit Sahour
The Papal Scout Troop – Beit Jala
Student Council of the Evangelical Lutheran School – Beit Sahour
Student Council of the Evangelical Lutheran School – Ramallah
Student Council of the Friends Boys School – Ramallah
Student Council of the Arab Evangelical Episcopal School – Ramallah
Student Council of St. Joseph’s School – Ramallah
Jafra Palestinian Youth Center-Al-Yarmouk Refugee Camp
Joint Advocacy Initiative – The East Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine

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