The British organization Friends of Al-Aqsa launched a campaign calling on Muslims in the United Kingdom to avoid buying Israeli dates, which invade stores, coinciding with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.
Under the slogan "Check The Label", the organization called on the public to check the labels of date products in stores before buying them, and urged them to avoid buying these dates if they find the place of production in Israel, the West Bank or the Jordan Valley.
On the last Friday before the March 17 Ramadan, activists from the organization distributed thousands of leaflets outside mosques across the country, calling for a boycott of Israeli dates, and containing awareness information about the products.
Activists are distributing leaflets in mosques, streets, centers, institutions and at the doors of supermarkets, in Arabic, English, Bengali and Urdu, calling on consumers to boycott Israeli-branded or Jordan Valley branded dates.
Great response from East London 🙌🏾
Where to next....#CheckTheLabel #BoycottIsraeliDates #Ramadan pic.twitter.com/pDI4MtPlxH
— Friends of Al Aqsa (@FriendsofAlAqsa) March 18, 2023
The organization also provided photos and names of some Israeli brands of date products, calling on people to identify them and avoid buying them. It also called on all those concerned for peace and justice to boycott all Israeli goods and merchandise.
"In Ramadan, be careful not to break your fast with the taste of apartheid," the organization said in its campaign statement, adding, "Israel is the world's largest producer of Medjool dates, let's be careful not to buy dates that support the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and the apartheid regime."
It is estimated that Israel produces more than 100,100 tons of dates annually, and the total Israeli revenue from dates per year is approximately $<> million, the vast majority of which are sold during the holy month of Ramadan.
Most of the Israeli dates come from settlements in the occupied Jordan Valley, and some come from Israeli farms in South Africa, where the dates ripen in the autumn of South Africa, the spring of the northern hemisphere.
According to the organization, 50% of Israeli dates are exported to Europe, and the United Kingdom is the second largest importer of Israeli dates in Europe.
For years, Britain has been witnessing growing campaigns calling for boycotts and punishment of Israel, involving academic, cultural and sports institutions, artists and writers, aimed at achieving a comprehensive boycott of Israel.