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A number of Israeli brands of dates have been boycotted by Muslims in Europe and the US. Photo/samidoun.net
LONDON – The boycott of Israeli dates has now begun to be vigorously called for by Muslims in Europe ahead of Ramadan. According to Arab News, Muslims across Europe have decided to check labels to avoid buying Israeli dates this Ramadan.
Israel itself is famous for being the world’s largest producer of Medjool dates, with 50% of the output being exported to Europe. These dates are sold in supermarkets and large shops throughout the Blue Continent.
Israel’s poor record towards Palestine makes Muslims in Europe reluctant to buy goods produced by the Jewish state. So far this year alone, Israel has killed 63 Palestinians, 13 of whom were children.
The Israeli date boycott movement is nothing new. In 2012, US Muslims had initiated the movement.
According to AlJazeera, Muslim Americans for Palestine (AMP) initiated the first-ever national boycott of Israeli-produced dates during Ramadan 2012.
The move applies to the New York, New Jersey, Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago, Sacramento, as well as Washington DC, and Philadelphia areas.
Due to the implementation of this boycott, exports of Israeli dates to the US have fallen significantly since 2015. From the 10.7 million kg of Israeli dates that entered the US market in 2015-2016, this fell to 3.1 million kg in 2017-2018.
Apart from being caused by humanitarian issues that were violated by Israel, another reason related to this boycott is also caused by planting dates which are carried out on illegal land using underpaid Palestinian workers. They also employ children.
