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Norway Trade Body Calls For Boycotting Israeli Products
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Consumers’
dilemma: to boycott or not to boycott?
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OSLO, July 1 (IslamOnline
& News Agencies) – Some supermarkets in
Norway
are identifying goods
from
Israel
by sticking yellow
labels on them, to give consumers the option of purchasing or not
purchasing them, a Palestinian website reported.
In
an editorial published on its website, the Palestine Chronicle said
that there should be no action against products that are made by the
U.S.
, or any other country, by firms owned by loyal citizens who happen to
be Jewish, Islamic, or Christian.
However,
the paper added, if there are products from Israeli firms in the world
marketplace, and people wish to point out that they are indeed Israeli
products, and that to indicate their objection to buying such products
made in Israel because of Israeli aggression and terrorist activities,
then they have that right.
The
Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions, has severely criticized Israeli
aggression against Palestinians and expressed their fury at Israel’s
damaging of the 1993 Oslo agreement, reported Norwegian daily
newspaper, Aften
Posten on May 15.
The
Federation has been fending off harsh and carefully
organized criticism from Israeli authorities and Jewish groups since
it itself criticized Israeli’s military action in the
West Bank
, the paper said.
On
a speech delivered on Labor Day, the head of the organization Gerd-Liv
Valla called for a boycott of Israeli products until the violence
ceased.
At
the same time, Valla criticized the Norwegian Government for being too
passive to the conflict in the
Middle East
, reported the Norway Post.
“In
my opinion they are too hesitant. I expect them to be quite clear and
distinct in their view of Kofi Annan’s initiative for an
international peace force,” Valla
said.
In
her speech, Valla pointed to the fact that this year’s May Day
celebrations were marked by sorrow and anger over the conflict in the
Middle East
. The situation has gone from bad to worse over the last few weeks.
The
promises by Israeli Prime Minister Sharon of security for the
population has led to the opposite. “We will urge a boycott of
Israeli products as long as the conflict continues,” Gerd-Liv Valla
said.
The
reaction by Israeli and Jewish organizations has been swift. A
delegation from the federation was nearly prevented from entering
Israel
in May and the Israeli embassy in
Oslo
has been crying foul. There were also e-mail campaigns even from the
Anti-Defamation League of the U.S, the paper reported.
However,
the Federation are standing by their position. Jon Ivar Naalsund, an
official in the organization, said that he believes the Palestinians
should have the same Israeli right to exist on a long-term basis
within secure and accepted boundaries, which was the basis for the
Oslo
agreement. “We are
disappointed and upset that
Israel
has damaged this work so
severely,” he said.
He
said that the organization is far from alone in its criticism of
current Israeli policy, noting that other European labor organizations
also have opposed recent actions by
Israel
's current conservative government.
In
a speech which he gave on May 17, Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne
Bondevik expressed his unease clearly stated that he was against a
boycott of Israeli products, reported the Norway Post.
“Some
have called for a boycott, but I do not share such a view. And it is
not the Government's policy,” Bondevik said adding that a boycott
and sanctions against
Israel
would not contribute towards securing security and peace in the
region.
“We
would only create aggression among the Israelis through such an
action. I disagree with TUC leader Gerd-Liv Valla on this point,”
the Norwegian Prime Minister said.
The
paper reported May 5 that trade union
movements in
Oslo
will begin a blockade of
Israeli products, preventing the goods from leaving the warehouses.
The
Transport Workers’
Union
will barricade the
warehouses belonging to the importers of fruit and vegetables,
stopping the delivery of Israeli produce, said the paper.
The
union said the blockade will last until the Israeli military actions
against Palestinians are stopped. “If the grocery chains want any
wares, they first have to remove the Israeli products,”
says union spokesman Thorbjoern Kristoffersen.
However,
the response for the boycott campaign has not been received well in
Norway
by consumers, reported the Norway
Post on May 3.
Most
of the major grocery chains say they have not registered any decline
in the sale of Israeli goods.
Only
one of the four largest chains, NorgesGruppen, reports a slight
decline in the sale of Israeli products compared with last year, but
they don't have any concrete figures, the paper said.
Bama,
the fruit wholesalers, registered a 30 per cent drop in the sales of
Israeli potatoes at the beginning of April, but the sales are now
almost back to normal.
Swedish
consumers on the other hand, have reacted more strongly, according to
the Swedish trade journal Fri
Kopenskap. The sale of
Jaffa
oranges in particular has
suffered, and Ica Gourmet in
Sweden
has changed to different
suppliers of avocado and oranges, reported the paper.
There
is also organized work carried out by Palestinians residing in
Norway
. A group of them have started up an organization dedicated for
boycotting
Israel
. According to their website, “Boycott
Israel”, meet a couple of times a month, and have divided
themselves into three units: the consumer group, the shop group and
the coordination-press group.
The
consumer group deals with the printing of leaflets, posters and
stickers, as well as circulating the material. It is in charge of
holding stands every Saturday, and is responsible for most of the
“normal” boycotting work directed towards the consumer.
The
shop group works at influencing shop owners in the
Oslo
area not to sell Israeli
products in their stores. This group deals with individual shops as
well as the wholesalers.
The
coordination-press group is responsible for preparing and leading the
‘grand’ meetings, process requests, keep in contact with
affiliated organizations, work towards the press and run the finances
according to directives
given by the grand meetings.
On
May 8, the Aften Posten reported that
Israel
claims that foreign donations, including the 20 million dollars
Norway
has given to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the past year, has
funded what it calls “terrorist” attacks.
Foreign
funding covers about 70 percent of the PA’s budget, which has
suffered after
Israel
withheld USD 507 million in taxes and duties which should have gone to
the Palestinian Authority this year, reported the paper
To
prevent the collapse of the PA’s infrastructure and maintain public
salaries
Norway
, the European Union and
several Arab nations contributed money to cover the PA’s monthly
operating costs of about USD 93 million.
Arab
nations pitch in with about USD 55 million per month, the EU gives USD
9 million monthly and
Norway
has donated two USD 10
million payments, once last year and once in 2002.
The
European Union does not export items that are manufactured in the
occupied territories or in Jewish settlements.
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