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eirigi to Intensify Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign printable version

07 Aug 2014: posted by the editor - Northern Ireland

Following an eirigi-organised protest at Sainsbury's west Belfast store on the Andersonstown Road on Tuesday, eirigi Belfast have announced plans to intensify their campaign against stores selling Israeli produce.

The next protest will take place at Asda's west Belfast store on the Andersonstown Road this coming Monday (August 11) at 6.30pm.

On Tuesday night up to one hundred eirigi activists and supporters filled dozens of shopping trolleys with Israeli goods and abandoned them at checkouts in an effort to highlight the latest Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip. Many shoppers joined in with the protest while most staff were supportive of the initiative.

A video of the protest taken by an éirígí supporter has gone viral on Facebook with over 18,000 people 'sharing' it in just 24 over hours. With this many shares the video may have reached up to one million users of the social network. A link to the video can be accessed below.

eirigi representative Pádraic MacCoitir said: "eirigi have made several representations to stores in the Belfast area requesting them to comply with agreements they had previously made with Palestine activists not to stock Israeli goods. We explained that they could not have picked a worse time to backtrack on these agreements and that the only ethical course of action was to again remove the goods.

As these appeals have, so far, fallen on deaf ears, we have had no option but to organise protests at these stores. The excuse from store managers that they cannot act outside of wider company policy is a complete red herring when the previous agreements are taken into consideration."

MacCoitir added: "Since éirígí began this series of protests, we have received widespread support from workers at these stores, shoppers and other members of the public. The companies in question are clearly rowing against public opinion on this issue. We have no wish to intensify these demonstrations, but we will be forced to do so unless Israeli goods are removed from these stores.

This situation can be resolved in one of two ways: The companies in question can decide to abide by previous agreements and respect public opinion, or they can expose themselves to public outrage before they are forced to take the right decision to protect their own profits. Either way, the Boycott campaign will succeed.

Those who stand with Apartheid Israel are standing on the wrong side of history."

Link to Facebook video of protest: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=713491822032069&set=vb.100001137739567&type=2&theater

Tags: eirigi, Palestine, Sainsbury, Israel produce boycott

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