Co-op members urge retailer to boycott Israeli goods

Co-op members have compared Israel to Russia, as they called on the convenience giant to boycott Israeli goods due to the war in Gaza.

Members are urging the retailer to stop trading with Israeli businesses in a motion issued before its annual general meeting in June, The Telegraph reported.

The motion urged the Co-op board to “demonstrate fairness and consistency in its ethical decision-making” by ceasing the sale of Israeli items.

The motion reads: “The Co-op was the first supermarket to boycott Russian products in March 2022, a week after the invasion of Ukraine. Since October 2023, Israel has completely destroyed Gaza and wiped out its key infrastructure – including schools, hospitals and universities.

“By July 2024, it was estimated that at least 186,000 Gazans – mainly women and children – had died as a result of the bombing, destruction of health facilities, and denial of essential aid.”

It continued: “We urge the board to show moral courage and leadership, apply the same ethical principles and values it did to Russia, and take all Israeli products off the shelves.”

The members referenced a ruling by the International Court of Justice, which found that the country had “a plausible case to answer” for committing genocide.

In response to the motion, the Co-op board said that it was “currently reviewing our sourcing policies to ensure that they reflect our values and principles and the views of our members, taking into consideration developments in the geopolitical situation and international food supply chains.

“We intend to confirm any changes to our sourcing policies in the summer, following that review.”

It noted that Co-op had not sourced any goods from the occupied Palestinian territories since 2007.

Despite this, it said: “The nature of international food supply chains means that it is very often impossible, impractical or unsafe to stop sourcing products entirely from specific countries.

“Following the invasion of Ukraine, we stopped ranging products which were self-evidently from Russia like Russian Standard Vodka. We did not stop sourcing all products from Russia and would not have been able to do so due to the international food supply chain complexities noted above.”

Co-op claimed that it had “always advocated for building peace through co-operation”.

The advisory nature of the motion means that even if it is voted through, the board is not required to take action.

In October 2023, Lush faced backlash after a “boycott Israel” sign was seen hanging on the window of one of its Dublin shops.

The cosmetics company suggested one of its staff members was responsible for the message at the Henry Street store.

In December 2023, Zara also faced a social media backlash and boycott following a controversial advertising campaign which was accused of resembling images from the Israel-Gaza war.

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