MUCH ADO ABOUT DATES

Article for Quaker online economic forum

Last year, Greg Wilkinson was arrested for shoplifting following his ‘citizens’ seizures’ of dates imported from Israeli Settlements. Here he explains why he got involved and how he continues to campaign against settlement goods. Although not a Quaker, Greg previously served on the UK Quaker group that served as pilot for the current Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine & Israel.

When the Israeli assault on Gaza began, I didn’t know what to do. The Israeli embassy, and our own dissembling government, were too far away from Swansea, and I’d become bit disenchanted with marches in London. Then, early last January, I got a Palestinian appeal for ‘Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions,’ forwarded by an Israeli friend.

On a weekly Tesco shopping trip, I spotted a rack of ‘West Bank’ dates. From my limited knowledge of West Bank geography, and the obstacles in the way of Palestinian exports, I guessed they were from Israeli settlements. I slipped a few packs into my baggage, took them out past the till and wrote to Tesco’s head office to say what I’d done and why. I offered to refund the price if they could show the fruit were NOT from illegal settlements.
In the course of a long e-mail exchange, I repeated my ‘citizen’s seizures’ and Tesco avoided both the settlement issue and any move to prosecute.

To break the stalemate, a group of local activists combined in a more public event. With a decoy rally in the carpark, we walked two trolley-loads of ‘West Bank’ dates and herbs out through the main entrance. (Youtube ‘Tesco arrests’).

D. Murphy, the woman with the other trolley, was charged with theft but I was not ‘for lack of evidence’. What more could they want? I’d marked my load of dates with red paint, so I was literally red-handed. (D used Tesco value ketchup on hers). At least, we thought, the case would now be tried, and the nonsense of government policy exposed: ‘settlements illegal, obstacle to peace, trade with them OK.’

The Swansea judge must have been unwilling to preside over political theatre, a play of natural, national and international law (Justice in short). He dismissed the case.
Instead, we got a sideshow. Several of us were arrested, had houses searched, computers and papers removed ‘on suspicion of conspiracy to racially aggravated criminal damage.’ Nothing to do with dates or Tesco or Swansea however. Some bodies unknown – to us as well as the police - had painted green peppers red at Sainburys, Bridgend. Not far down the coast, but we’d never been near the place. The racial aggravation turned out to be a slogan ‘Boycott Israeli Goods’. That case too was dropped, and we got a police apology.

Now, on advice from a ‘Lawyer for Palestinian Human Rights’, we’re working on another tack. Instead of courting prosecution why not prosecute? With a legal advice from Matrix counsel, we’re pressing Swansea Trading Standards to act on our behalf. Our argument: Tesco’s - and other stores – are importing and selling goods from an illegal source, ‘West Bank’ labels are misleading - disguising the illegal source - and the imports benefit from EU-Israel duty exemptions that do not apply to goods produced outside Israel.
(Ed: note clarification in last sentence)

D.Murphy, of the value ketchup, recently returned from the seige-breaking Viva Palestina trek to Gaza. Last month, at a meeting to hear that story, 100 people signed a call for action by Trading Standards. This was delivered, with samples of liberated dates, to Swansea Guildhall, in a presentation to coincide with the city’s ‘Fair Trade Fortnight’. The Trading Standards officer who met us said he’d investigate, but confine himself to compliance with UK regulations. We said that what mattered was not so much the regulations, even international law, but the rights that laws exist to defend. Behind those dates and dealings, land is still being stolen, lives and liberties in Palestine curtailed. As routes are opened up to settlement trade, they are closed to Palestinians. Palestinians who protest, even non-violently, face raids, detention, even death.

Tesco has now updated its 'West Bank' labels, in line with recent advice from the government. The new labels indicate that the dates are from Israeli settlements, but not that the settlements are illegal.

Find out More:
For more information on settlement goods see: www.quaker.org.uk/settlement produce

For legal advice about the labelling of Israeli and West Bank goods, see: http://www.lphr.org.uk/publications/advice/Labelling_Advice_Beal.pdf