BDS and "The Color Purple."

[SherriMunnerlyn]

BDS roundup: The BDS movement, 7 years on, "stronger, more effective and more diverse than ever"

Submitted by*nora*on Wed, 07/11/2012. "The Palestinian call for BDS was launched in July, 2005. The movement continues to grow and strengthen.This week on the BDS roundup: Highlighting the spectacular growth and victories of the 7-year-old BDS movement; Palestinian civil society commends author Alice Walker for her refusal to have her book published by an Israeli publisher; Palestine solidarity activists protest pinkwashing at San Francisco LGBT International Film Festival; and boycott activists take to the roof of G4S headquarters to demand an end to cooperation with the Israeli government." BDS roundup: The BDS movement, 7 years on, "stronger, more effective and more diverse than ever" | The Electronic Intifada

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

"Agrexco, Israel’s former largest exporter of agricultural produce, entered liquidation towards the end of 2011, following a campaign of blockades, demonstrations, lobbying of supermarkets and governments, popular boycotts and legal action in more than 13 countries across Europe. The campaign against the company was a major factor behind the lack of investors’ interest to salvage it.The largest Co-operative in Europe, the Co-Operative Group in the UK, introduced a policy to end trade with companies that source products from Israel’s*illegal settlements, following a determined campaign by Co-Op members. Campaigners are working to pressure other supermarkets to adopt a similarly comprehensive position. Many supermarkets across Europe already claim not to sell produce from illegal settlements.A sustained campaign against*Ahava, the Israeli cosmetics company situated in an illegal Israeli colony, forced the company to close its flagship London store and retailers in the UK, Norway, Japan and Canada to announce boycotts of the company." BDS roundup: The BDS movement, 7 years on, "stronger, more effective and more diverse than ever" | The Electronic Intifada. Just some of the sccomplishments after 7 years of BDS.

 

[Hossfly]

Boycott SodaStream!

"This petition is the launch of the new Interfaith Coalition Campaign to Boycott SodaStream! ... We are thirsty for justice.*We are Christians, Muslims, Jews, and other people of conscience calling on all consumers and stores to stop buying and selling SodaStream carbonation devices or other products made by this company. SodaStream manufactures these machines within an Israeli settlement in occupied Palestinian territory. These settlements are illegal under international law and are obstacles to peace. We choose not to partake in supporting this unethical enterprise and ask consumers and stores to join us.*We will not be satisfied until*"justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."*(Amos 5:24)" Boycott SodaStream! A BDS Petition to sign

Instead of boycotting SodaStream, how about we boycott the clothing coming in from Muslim counties where the people have no problem killing others in the name of their religion. By the way, Frau Sherri, since you have Iranian Shiite relatives, what do they have to say about the enormous amount of Shiites murdered by two Sunni suicide bombers at a mosque in Iraq the other day, or do you feel boycotting goods from Israel is more important than worrying about people being murdered because of the Muslim sect they belong to? Oh by the way, the owner of SodaStream treats his Arab workers very well. Maybe you can get one of your friends in that area to ask them how they like their jobs or would they rather be unemployed?

 

[Kondor3]

BDS roundup: The BDS movement, 7 years on, "stronger, more effective and more diverse than ever"...

After eight years of zilch, zippp, zero significant results, it had no place TO go but up; and, at the end of the day, nobody knows it exists, it's a sand-flea, and a complete dead-end.

 

[Kondor3]

"Agrexco, Israel’s former largest exporter of agricultural produce, entered liquidation towards the end of 2011, following a campaign of blockades, demonstrations, lobbying of supermarkets and governments, popular boycotts and legal action in more than 13 countries across Europe. The campaign against the company was a major factor behind the lack of investors’ interest to salvage it.The largest Co-operative in Europe, the Co-Operative Group in the UK, introduced a policy to end trade with companies that source products from Israel’s*illegal settlements, following a determined campaign by Co-Op members. Campaigners are working to pressure other supermarkets to adopt a similarly comprehensive position. Many supermarkets across Europe already claim not to sell produce from illegal settlements.A sustained campaign against*Ahava, the Israeli cosmetics company situated in an illegal Israeli colony, forced the company to close its flagship London store and retailers in the UK, Norway, Japan and Canada to announce boycotts of the company." BDS roundup: The BDS movement, 7 years on, "stronger, more effective and more diverse than ever" | The Electronic Intifada. Just some of the sccomplishments after 7 years of BDS.

==============================

A slightly modified version of the text that I posted in refuting GeorgePhillips' own assertions about BDS effectiveness, relative to Agrexco, a day or two ago...

========================================================

Why did Agrexco go bankrupt?

Shir Hever on the connections between the demise of a company that exports settlement produce and the international boycott and divestment campaign.

By Shir Hever, JNews Blog - Friday, 7 October, 2011 - 12:52 - London, UK

Agrexco is a well-known company founded by the state of Israel to help Israeli farmers export their goods to the rest of the world. The company became a symbol of the Israeli economy, and its brands, such as Carmel, became well known in many European cities.

Despite being responsible for about 60-70% of all Israel’s agricultural exports, the company recently went bankrupt. In June, financial irregularities were discovered in the company’s accounts. In September, an Israeli court ruled that the company is to go into liquidation. It is still possible that the company will be bought, although currently an Israeli company (Bickel Flowers) is offering a meager £7 million for a company whose value was estimated at £104 million in June 2009. Bickel Flowers’ offer is yet to be approved by the court.

In today’s shaky global economy, another company collapsing is hardly a rare event. However, Agrexco, being Israel’s flagship exporter of agricultural goods, was not expected to run into trouble so fast. Several explanations have been given for the company’s bankruptcy. Journalists argued that the company overestimated its growth potential and invested money in terminals and ships, counting on a steady increase in demand that never materialized. The problem with this explanation is that it doesn’t explain what caused the sudden decline in demand for Agrexco’s goods, and why Agrexco’s management was not able to make adjustments in time.

Another explanation is that many Israeli farmers abandoned Agrexco and took their business to its competitors. If that is so, why did the farmers choose to leave Agrexco when Agrexco was offering them various perks to stay with the company?

A third explanation for the company’s collapse is that the Israeli government opted to allow it to happen. This could partly stem from a neoliberal ideology that opposes the concept of state-owned companies, or from pressure by Agrexco’s competitors. Yet, this explanation does not shed light on why the company collapsed in the first place, and why the government spent 55 million NIS in an attempt to help the company in December 2010.

Indeed, these three explanations may hold some of the truth, but a fourth explanation has been largely ignored by the Israeli economic media – the fact that Agrexco has been the target of an international boycott campaign, in protest at its role in repressing Palestinians.

Agrexco has been chosen as a focus for protests around the world for three reasons. First, the company’s exploitation of Palestinian workers; second, the company’s marketing and selling of agricultural products from the settlements in the West Bank (and from Gaza until 2005); and third, the company’s policy of misinforming its customers, labeling all its products as “made in Israel” even if said products were produced in the West Bank by Palestinians or by settlers.

In 2004, UK activists chained themselves to an Agrexco warehouse and were arrested, but the charges against them were dropped because Agrexco did not wish to defend its actions in court. Groups of activists formed in cities in which Agrexco had concentrated operations (such as Montpellier, France) to protest the company’s activities and inform the public that the company was involved in criminal activity, exploitation and repression.

Naturally, the company never released any data about the loss of sales as a result of this boycott, not wishing to further bolster the activists’ morale. However, at least some of the Israeli farmers who chose to leave the company must have realized that the company’s brands were no longer good for sales. Only the company’s German employees mentioned the boycott in their call to the Israeli government to bail the company out. Apart from Bickel Flowers, three companies expressed an interest in buying Agrexco: the Israeli Kislev, the Irish Total Produce and the Japanese Classic Japan. These companies received hundreds, possibly thousands, of letters from activists urging them not to buy the company, and eventually withdrew from their intention to buy it.

One company, Mehadrin, would have the most to gain from Agrexco’s demise. The privately-owned Israeli company is set to take Agrexco’s place as Israel’s biggest agricultural exporter. Mehadrin also sells agricultural products from the settlements in the West Bank. It also owns lands of destroyed Palestinian villages, given to it free of charge by the government in order to help conceal the ruins (PDF, Hebrew). With the fall of Agrexco, Mehadrin is now in danger of facing a boycott campaign too.

---------

Shir Hever is an Israeli economist and commentator who researches the economic aspects of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

This article may be reproduced on condition that JNews is cited as its source

Why did Agrexco go bankrupt? | JNews

==============================

Ummmmm... there appears to be more than one school of thought on that.

And, I'd really consider laying-off the Kool-Aid on those BDS Propaganda beat-their-own-drum-whether-it's-warranted-or-not websites...

========================================================

...and another related post from that same exchange...

Quote: Originally Posted by georgephillip
"..."The largest Co-operative in Europe, the Co-Operative Group in the UK, introduced a policy to end trade with companies that source products from Israel’s illegal settlements..."
----------

From: by The Commentator on 25 July 2012 16:14

In 2008, trade was suspended with various Israeli companies and in April this year, controversy arose when the group announced it would “no longer [be] engaging with any supplier of produce known to be sourcing from Israeli settlements”.

The organisation pays much attention to its ‘social responsibility’ arm, under which ‘international development and human rights’ plays a headline role, even though in 2009, the organisation missed or dropped 44 percent of its corporate targets in this area.

Co-Op group under fire for 'hypocritical' Israeli boycott - The Commentator

----------

Given that Agrexco went into Liquidation in August 2011...

Given that the Co-Op announced its boycott of produce-suppliers in April 2012...

( confirmed by the Jerusalem Post )

...a full 8 months AFTER Agrexco went into Liquidation...

...I'm having some difficulty in understanding just how the Co-Op's boycott was responsible for the (prematurely determined) death of Agrexco...

There's something not-quite-right about the timeline overlays...

Live and learn, indeed..

========================================================

...and, a third-and-final prior post on this same subject (BDS being responsible for Agrexco's bankruptcy)...

...

Don't look now...

But Agrexco is still alive and well, as is its Carmel brand...

Different principals and capital, quite possibly...

But business-as-usual, by the look of it...

And business is good, according to the performance stats they're displaying on their website...

Agrexco

As I said... that blasted BDS Kool-Aid will screw ya up every time...

========================================================

Hopefully, all this will be of help in locking-down your claims of BDS effectiveness against Agrexco, Sherri....

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

BDS is driving companies into bankruptcy. Lmao at Zionist attempts to explain those bankruptcies away!

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Consumer and Corporate Boycott Successes. December 2011: The West London Waste Authority excluded French company Veolia from a £485 million (more than $763 million USD) contract. BDS activists have targeted Veolia because of the latter's role building and operating a light rail line that links Jerusalem with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. Veolia also takes waste from Israel proper and settlements and dumps it on Palestinian land in the West Bank. Although the reasons for WLWA's decision are confidential, BDS activists celebrated it as a victory. August 2011: Agrexco, the Israeli produce and flower exporter which ships products from Israeli settlements,*declared bankruptcy, an action attributed in part to the boycott of their products.July 2011: The Swedish supermarket chain Coop*stopped purchasing*Soda Stream carbonation devices which are produced in the illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim.May 2011: The state-owned German company Deutsche Bahn*pulled out*of Israel's A1 rail project, which cuts through the occupied West Bank, after pressure from BDS activists and the German government.May 2011: French-Belgian bank Dexia*announced*it was selling its stake in its Israeli subsidiary, Dexia-Israel, after coming under pressure for providing loans for the construction of illegal Israeli settlements.July 2010: U.S.-based Olympia Food Co-op (two grocery stores)*voted*to stop selling all Israeli goods with the exception of a single brand called “Peace Oil.”*June 2010: Responding to appeals from Palestinian civil society after Israel’s attack on a humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza, dockworkers in*Oakland - California,Sweden, and*Norway*all refused to dock and unload Israeli ships, imposing a blockade so-to-speak on Israeli goods. Similar*historic action*was taken by South African dockworkers in February of 2009.*IMEU: FAQ on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

July 2009 – 2011: As part of a*CODEPINK campaign*against Israeli settlement-based and settlement-owned Ahava Dead Sea Cosmetics, Kristen Davis wassuspended from her post*as Oxfam spokesperson after it was revealed that she also represented AHAVA Beauty Products. Davis later*ended her contract*with Ahava. CODEPINK also*confirmed*with Costco that it would no longer carry Ahava products after a letter-writing and calling campaign by activists across the U.S. In 2011, Canada's*Hudson Bay Company*and British retailer*John Lewiseach announced they were no longer stocking Ahava. Finally, the Dutch government is*currently investigating*Ahava and its practices.*2006 - 2010:*The “Derail Veolia” campaign against French corporation Veolia, for its involvement in the construction of a light rail train from Jerusalem into Israeli settlements or colonies on Palestinian land, led to a*loss of over*€7 billion for the company across several countries. Israeli news daily*Ha’aretz reported*that after the losses Veolia had decided to withdraw from the project.November 2007 - 2010: A global campaign against Israeli billionaire, diamond mogul, and settlement-builder*Lev Leviev*initiated by US-based Adalah-NY has led to his*renunciation*by UNICEF,*denunciation*by Oxfam, the*removal of a promotional section*of his website featuring actors like Salma Hayek, Drew Barrymore, and Halle Berry at some of their requests, and a UK governmentdecision*not to rent embassy space from his company. In November 2010, Leviev's Africa Israel company*announced*it would no longer be involved in settlement construction. IMEU: FAQ on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)

 

[Kondor3]

BDS is driving companies into bankruptcy. Lmao at Zionist attempts to explain those bankruptcies away!

Yes, after getting pwned like you did yesterday, over the Agrexco bankruptcy fallacy (files bankruptcy in 2011, UK's Co-op cited as cause, UK's Co-op only begins produce aspect of boycott 8 months later in 2012, timeline wrong, multiple causes outlined)... I, too, would run away for some hours, only to slink back in the wee hours of the morning, to 'declare victory' and vomit-up more Palestinian BDS propaganda spam, at a time of day when it will probably be left unchallenged for some hours afterwards.

Oh, and did you really LMAO? We can always hope. It would be nice to have a few more days without this Palestinian propaganda diarrhea stinking up the place.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

All I can do is laugh at Zionists desperate attempt at turning a BDS success story into a Zionist victory.

 

[Kondor3]

All I can do is laugh at Zionists desperate attempt at turning a BDS success story into a Zionist victory.

You go right ahead and keep laughing, while the calendar ( Agrexco files bankruptcy in 2011, UK Co-op doesn't begin boycott until 8 months AFTER bankruptcy filing, in 2012 ) and logic provide their own objective input. Oh, and, that's not 'desperate' - matter of fact, that's an easy one... the calendar does all the talking required.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

I shall keep on laughing and smiling at all these Beautiful BDS successes. And praising God for them. Thank you, God . Sherri

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

And I am reminded by a recent article I posted we will soon be arriving at the 8th anniversary of BDS, in July. So, I expect new articles will be written soon addressing all of the past years accomplishments. I cant wait to read about all of that. Sherri

 

[toastman]

I shall keep on laughing and smiling at all these Beautiful BDS successes. And praising God for them. Thank you, God . Sherri

You provided no counter-argument to Kondor's post.
You lost the argument.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Agrexco no longer exists. Case closed.

 

[toastman]

See post #333 Sherri, and provide a counter-argument. If you can lol hahaha

 

[toastman]

All I can do is laugh at anti-Israeli posters like you who claim victory where there is no victory. It makes me feel warm inside hahahahaha . I know where to come for a laugh if I need one

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Agrexco Agricultural Export Company Ltd.(trading as*Carmel Agrexco), was*Israel’s largest exporter of agricultural produce, with theEuropean Union*one of its major markets. Agrexco went into liquidation on August 2011 with debts of €175 million ($217 million), mainly owned to its bondholders that were mostly IsraeliInstitutional investors.[1] Carmel Agrexco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Kondor3]

Agrexco no longer exists. Case closed.

Don't look now, but...

1. there were multiple causes for Agrexco's failure (previously cited in this very thread), most of which had nothing to do with boycotts.

2. new investors bought-up Agrexco in the Fall of 2011 to keep it afloat and resurrect it, and operations resumed within 30 days of their halting; many old employees, less overhead, big contracts, terminals, warehouses, distributors, subsidiaries, fresh capital, etc...

They're still alive-and-well and doing just fine, according to their latest performance figures...

Link to their website: Agrexco

Read it and weep...

Case closed, indeed...

 

[Kondor3]

See post #333 Sherri, and provide a counter-argument. If you can lol hahaha

Yeah... it's fun, claiming Victory, when you ignore facts and calendars and logic...