Today, Al-Haq and Just Peace Advocates released a joint report examining “Israeli Appropriation and Exploitation in Palestine Using Medjoul Dates.”
Our organisations highlight that the disparity between ‘Israeli’ and Palestinian date exports is a result of intentional roadblocks imposed by the Israeli state in order to suffocate Palestinians, prevent Palestinian self-determination, and continue its settler colonial project.
The production and sale of Medjoul dates by Israeli companies is exploitation. It is rooted in the historic and ongoing genocide of Palestinians. This is not isolated to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip. The settlement of Palestine is the result of continuing criminal acts on both sides of the Green Line. The produce that is grown and sold is a result of continued land appropriations, pillage of natural resources, and continued forced displacement of Palestinian landowners from their lands and properties. Regardless of which side of the Green Line that the products come from, these products rely on the entrenchment of Israeli occupation and discriminatory policies and practices of apartheid.
The impact includes but is not limited to land appropriation, exploitation of Palestinian labour, exploitation of natural resources, entrenchment of Israeli occupation and apartheid, and the genocide in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers are given preferential treatment, access to resources, and freedom of movement. Institutional collaboration and funding are also essential for the maintenance and expansion of the Israeli agricultural sector in the largely annexed West Bank. For instance, the settler Jordan Valley Agricultural Research and Development Station is supported not only by Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture, but also by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the World Zionist Organization (WZO). Both organizations receive funding from Canadian charities including the United Israel Appeal of Canada (UIAC) and JNF Canada (now Friends of JNF Canada).
Read the full report to learn how various entities, government agencies, and individuals are potentially facilitating serious international and domestic law violations including:
- The war crime of pillage;
- Failing to differentiate goods from occupied territory in the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement;
- Land appropriation;
- Transfer of civilian population;
- The crime of apartheid;
- Aiding and abetting;
- Laundering proceeds of crime.
Read the full report, and join us in demanding an immediate end to the importation and sale of all Israeli dates into Canada, in alignment with international and domestic law.
