Israeli goods seized in Tesco’s and covered in blood

undercurrents | 27.01.2009 16:04 | Anti-militarism | Palestine | World

3 arrested in blood soaked protest in Tescos

Tesco produce from West Bank

Produce on sale from Tesco from occupied zones

Undercurrents filmed a dramatic protest in Tesco supermarket at 3 pm today.
A group of people took produce labeled as ‘WEST BANK’ as country of origin was seized at a TESCO store in Swansea’s City Centre.

The two concerned citizens are from the group ‘Justice for Palestine’, while outside protesters handed out leaflets explaining the action.

The two filled their trollies with dates, fresh herbs, fruit and salads. The trollies, full of produce were up-turned at the supermarket entrance and covered in fake blood to represent the lives lost in Gaza.

Greg Wilkinson, who has on two previous occasions liberated dates from Tesco’s and sold them on to raise funds for medical aid for Gaza made the following statement:

‘These products have been grown on land stolen from the people of Palestine. Since the Israeli invasion in 1967, over 450,000 Israelis have been settled on Palestinian land in the West Bank. They have up-rooted thousands of olive trees, demolished thousands of homes and appropriated scare water resources to produce these goods.

Grandmother of four, D. Murphy said:
'We believe that Tesco’s are accessories to crimes under international law – under Geneva Conventions and UN resolutions signed in our name.

By removing these unlawful goods from the shelves we are enforcing the law, not breaking it. We are asking the people of Wales to support the national boycott of Israeli goods.’

3 people were arrested with 4 Police cars attending the scene. An undercurrents video report of the protest will be available on

http://www.visionon.tv later today

undercurrents
e-mail: news@undercurrents.org
Homepage: http://www.undercurrents.org

Comments

Hide the following 23 comments

thought

27.01.2009 16:25

Spare a thought for the minimum wage employees who have to clean that up after you, will you?

dire

A technicality, in no way a criticism.

27.01.2009 16:56

While the protest is admirable I have one concern. If something is labelled as 'West Bank' does that distinguish between produce of Israeli 'settlements' and Palestinian farms? In the case of the later we perhaps should be supporting its sale (despite it probably having to pass through and provide tax to Israel, a niggling concern).

McQn

I

27.01.2009 17:06

will be happy to clean it if it gets the message out that the israelis are the terrorists.

minnie wage

west bank..

27.01.2009 17:25

'westbank' labeled products always come from big israeli settlement farms - palestinian farmers often have produce which ends up rotting due to the dominance of the israeli farms in westbank. Dont buy products with 'westbank' origin - herbs, fresh mint etc etc

Don't get arrested

27.01.2009 17:30

Just fill up trolley and leave in aisle and walk away. Leave a paper about Gaza and Ocupied lands. Be free to do it again at another store. Imagine if one hundered people rotated between say 25 stores, they could keep doing this for about a month. One could fill about 2 or 3 trolleys before walking out of the shop empty handed! No crime committed! Ofcourse the surveillance would increase but then we use baskets smaller quantities. Pretty soon they would end up harrassing those who wish to support israHELL!

I think pretty soon the manager will just decide to leave out the IsraHELLi products being fed up of having to take the goods from trolley and basket and replace on shelves.

SO please don't get arrested just piss them off! Besides this may create jobs as they have to recruit more shop floor assistants!

Idea

@dire

27.01.2009 18:08

I don't get your argument, actions should only be engaged in if the person tasked with cleaning it is paid more than minimum wage? Surely the fact that Tesco pay their staff minimum wage as well as stocking illegal settlement produce makes them more of a target for action rather than less.

Or are you saying actions that require someone to clean them up are wrong?

I'm a bit confused here.

I agree with idea (comment #4), they're going to have a hard time arresting you for filling your trolley and then realising it is full of Israeli goods and changing your mind ;)

Confused

@ confused

27.01.2009 18:47

I think it's more the fact that doing stuff like that just causes hassle for the people working there. Basically the shop manager (or front end manager etc) will get a bit hacked off, but it's not exactly going to ruin their day, they'll just shout at some random worker to clean it up. The people in tesco who decide where stuff is bought from probably won't even here about it - individual shops don't decide what they are going to stock, they just get deliveries and tell the people working there to put them out.

I don't think it's going to get tesco to change their mind simply because it's not going to lose them money or cause hassle to those further up in the company. Maybe targeting the head offices/main distributions warehouses would be more effective?

Sanctions hurt Palestinians

27.01.2009 19:04

Many Palestinians rely on Israeli firms for employment. Boycotting Israeli firms will therefore only result in more hardship for Palestinians who will find it harder to get work. Unemployment benefit in occupied Palestine is extremley low and unemployment rates very high.

concerned Palestinian supporter.

Yes do...

27.01.2009 19:59

...target distributers etc (as well). Why not join the international callout for actions against Carmel Agrexco (who deal with the settlement farms). For more info see

http://www.bigcampaign.org/index.php?mact=Calendar,cntnt01,default,0&cntnt01event_id=9&cntnt01display=event&cntnt01detailpage=73&cntnt01return_id=103&cntnt01returnid=73/

About a boycott hurting the Palestinans...That is true as some Palestinians are forced to work in the settlement farms. I have interviewed a lot of them and they work for povery wages with no contracts/pensions/sick pay etc. The settlements also employ a lot of children contrary to international law. Generally the Palestinians work on settlements built on land that used to belong to their families. I have yet to meet any Palestinian settlement worker who object to the boycott. They realise that there might be short term hardship, but that destroying the profitability of the settlement farms is the only chance they have of being able to rebuild a Palestinian economy.

Also, about West Bank produce. There is no commercial exporter of Palestinian fruit, vegetables and herbs at the moment so everything labelled West Bank will be from settlements.

Boycotter

stop the critics

27.01.2009 20:23

always critics here ..stop that shit ....awesome action keep up the good work ..dont forget DONT PAY THE TV LICENSE ..FUK BBC .. mostly the cash u pay for the tv license is because the bbc so BOYCOTT AND RESIST to the critics - loosers

GATO loko

Respect!

27.01.2009 20:26

Very nice action, it will be very interesting to see if anyone is charged because other DA has apparently not led to charges because of the illegality of West Bank produce being possibly brought up at court.

People should show solidarity, it’s your risk and fair and a well thought out one at that.

One thing that can be done is to put the products through the till then complain about where they are from and walk out.

propose by doing

27.01.2009 21:11

If you are going to fill a trolley then why not let them scan it all through before handing over the note? More delay that way, more costly for them. If people started posting photos of themselves doing that then it'd be more encouraging for others but for me Ae has the right idea.

Sanctions, pickets, blocks, boycotts, disruption, isolation, everything that was thrown at apartheid South Africa and the companies and banks who supported White Rule is essential now. Whatever you can do, do. It's important, moral and even legal to act against war crimes. Writing a letter to your local newspaper is better than planning something big that you don't follow through on.

I think the same measures should be considered against Egyptian commercial interests in the UK - tourism for example.
The footage of the dictators son visiting the closed Egyptian border with Gaza appalled me, but footage like that is only shown once about puppets unless they cut their strings.

Same Brave Lady

27.01.2009 21:20

It's the same brave lady who super glued her hand at the BBC Cardiff Office. Have lots of respect for her courage and determination!

Boycott is not going to be that much worse for Palestinians as they are being exploited to the max by the zionists! It's what zionists do well ....EXPLOITATION!

Like the idea above, fill up trolley but make sure it is all different items so it is a pain to put back in the right place. Let's see how long they are prepared to put up with it! Time is on our side. What are they going to do?

John

Wicked IDEA!!

27.01.2009 22:36

Great job guys.. I hope the arrest was not too bad. I don't understand why you got arrested for spilling ketchup on products and not the israelis that killed families.

Anyhow.. Idea.. I found you Idea absolutely wonderful.

I will definitely start doing it, starting tomorrow. Join me in this peaceful revolution. All israeli products left in a basked on a corner of the store. Every day.

Gaza Libera

Brill hope more pensioners ware up for this, many younger activists job records

28.01.2009 00:02

are screwed after "breaking law" like this& re as older gen get less time, more respect & dont have to worry about job record.I cant work in a number of professions I wanted to, Nice one granny, keep it!

james

very bold action but do consider...

28.01.2009 00:09

if you liberate produce or cause produce to be spoiled then the supermarket writes it off and whacks in an order straight away for replacement produce from the same thieving zionist producers on their stolen Palestinian land increasing their profits as they get to flog more than usual to the supermarket. Is this really what you want to do? The only valid counter argument of course is that if you keep doing this again and again then the supermarket MAY realise that it's harder to make a profit for themselves on this zionist stuff if it keeps getting liberated or trashed. But they probably won't do this lightly and you may suffer dozens of arrests before they finally take this drastic step.

I really shouldn't need to point this out as it should be so blindingly obvious but many many activists seem to have a complete blind spot as to where and how the profits and losses occur in such a situation. Further illustration of this point can be had from years ago in Eco Defence (an earth first! DIY manual) in which there were completely farcical suggestions for animal rights actions where you were urged to fill supermarket trolleys with frozen meat then hide the trolleys in an obscure corner of the shop so that the meat went off before it was discovered by the end of the day and had to be dumped. The morons who wrote this just couldn't see that MORE animals would end up being killed to replace the mouldy meat. There were similar idiotic suggestions about pouring bottled water over supermarket stocks of unethical Andrex coming from virgin forests thus spoiling it and again of course causing more trees to be felled to replace the spoiled bog paper.

self confessed armchair supporter

Don't worry about Stores restocking

28.01.2009 10:16

The stores will get fed up if there are many people doing this. It is not just a matter of more stock but also displaying the stock.
Ofcourse the Zionist supporting Tesco will try and support Israel as much as possible even though it does not make commercial sense but eventually they will have to give up the Israelli products.
For this to be effective we need to see hundreds and thousands to participate and be in it for the long haul. Several months at least.
As mentioned above no need to break the law or have confrontation. Just fill up the trolleys with lots of different Israelli products and leave them in the aisle. I think 10 to 20 trolleys per shop per day will be enough!
If they happen to spot you just visit another Tesco or Asda or Morrisson or Sainsbury etc.
Good luck all.

"Thousands of Years"?

28.01.2009 13:03

The Arab conquest of the Land of Israel occured in 638 CE, so we are talking about an occupation that has lasted for some 1300 years. For example, Jordan is still occupied by a family that hails from Saudi Arabia, having been expelled from there just after World War I after Ali, father of Abdullah and Feisal of Syria and later Iraq, finally lost the battle of Nadj in 1924.

As a resident of the area of Samaria, I can attest that many Arabs would like to advance economic and business coexistence with Jews but are afraid of PA torture.

Yisrael Medad
mail e-mail: yisrael.medad@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.myrightword.blogspot.com

Another suggestion

28.01.2009 17:49

I think a more effective protest than destroying produce is simply to leaflet shoppers outside the shop and politely ask them not to buy Israeli produce. If a sufficient number of shoppers comply with the request, perhaps the supermarkets will stop ordering Israeli goods, thus leading to diminished profits for Israeli producers. Simply damaging goods outside a shop may be highly visible but unlikely to persuade shoppers to join a boycott. I recently leafleted a Sainsury's where the majority of shoppers indicated a willingness to boycott Israeli goods or said they didn't buy Israeli produce anyway. The police were called but their slow response time meant we shifted most of our information leaflets and we avoided arrest by simply moving on once the police attended.
Targeting the distribution of Israeli goods will also affect supply.

Bob

Good Suggestion

28.01.2009 20:29

I like your suggestion Bob. There is no reason why both can not work. I think damage will lead to arrest but leaflets to shoppers and stacking goods in trolleys will both have impact!
Good luck to all involved! Keep boycotting!
To the ZIONIST poster Palestine been occupied for over 60 years! The aprtition plan itself was a crime and injustice. Imagine if the asian population in Bradford, Leeds, Brimingahm went to the UN asked for a homeland and have those areas designated as a seperate state how would the people of UK feel?

sometimes being arrested is a big part of the action

28.01.2009 22:46

For the people who said it is better to avoid arrest:

In some circumstances that is true, but at other times the extra publicity you can get from being arrested and going to court can be invaluable for getting the word out.

Often companies are desperate for people not to be charged because they know it will elicit sympathy for the arrestees and more grief and bad publicity for them.

anon

Clarification on leafleting

29.01.2009 20:17

"The police were called but their slow response time meant we shifted most of our information leaflets and we avoided arrest by simply moving on once the police attended."

Leafleting the public is called exercising your right to freedom of expression, which is protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, incorporated into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. Unless you are on private property (e.g. inside a supermarket or shopping mall) and refuse to move on when requested to do so; or you are being abusive or violent, or the literature you are distributing is hateful, abusive or libellous, any arrest or threat of arrest for the simple act of leafleting is almost certainly unlawful. In some instances councils will introduce local bylaws that may be used to try and restrict the distribution of literature of a political nature, but using devolved legislation in this way contravenes your Article 10 rights and is therefore unlawful. Any such breaches of the right to free expression ought to be vigorously challenged at every level, otherwise democracy dies.

Sir Paul Hussey

Thanks

30.01.2009 13:24

Thanks to Sir Bob Hussey for your advice on leafleting. I will bear this in mind when leafleting Tescos on Sunday. The Sainsbury's manager, who was a bit of a shit, called the police immediately and argued that we were on private property. He refused to show us the deeds when we asked (unsurprisingly).
I don't object to any form of protest against Israeli produce and wasn't particularly bothered about being arrested on that day. However, it seemed slightly pointless because we would have simply been bundled into a police car and no one would have been any the wiser. The policewoman did, in that patronising manner the police adopt - must be part of their training, suggest that we file a complaint with the police when we asked her to seize the stolen goods Sainsbury's were selling from the occupied territories. Any action is better than none at all, in my view.