Al Arabiya news is reporting that a U.S. group called The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) has launched a campaign calling for the boycotting of dates grown in Israeli-occupied Palestinian land.
The campaign which is titled “This Ramadan Make a Date with Justice: Choose Occupation-Free Dates” was launched two days before the commencement of Ramadan and is part of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which targets Israeli products on the international market.
Mr. Awad Hamdan, AMP National Programs director, was quoted as saying that many Muslims were unaware that they were using Israeli dates grown in settlements on occupied Palestinian land and that the campaign was about raising that awareness among both Muslims as well as non-Muslims.
“We decided to launch the campaign during the month of Ramadan to gain speed very quickly and it has resulted to be successful. Dates are a product bought a lot from Muslim consumers during Ramadan because it’s typically eaten to break from their fast,” Awad was quoted as saying.
The BDS movement was said to be enjoying widespread support even among groups of Jews such as Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP). JVP representative, Sydney Levy, said that they support such initiatives because they consider justice to be important and because such activities provide an opportunity to “stand with Muslim bothers and sisters”.
AMP wants those who are aware to avoid dates from the company Hadiklaim, sold under brands like Jordan River, Jordan River Bio-Tops and King Solomon. They advocate supporting U.S. date manufacturers in California and Arizona instead.
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