Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-08-05

BDS South Africa and the national coalition have joined the call for a complete boycott of Woolworths until it ends sourcing produce and goods from Israeli companies.

Muhammed Desai, the local coordinator for BDS, said the group was calling for an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories, the right of Palestinians living abroad to return home and equality for Palestinians living Israel.

BDS had already engaged with local businesses, including Woolworths and Pick n Pay about them stocking Israeli products.

Desai said BDS is calling on Woolworths and Pick n Pay to get rid of products made in Israel and want Woolworths to stop selling fruit and vegetables from Israel.

In a press release on its website Woolworths said:  “We can confirm that we have not stopped stocking Israeli products in Woolworths stores.”

“Woolworths has no political affiliations. We respect our customers’ right to make individual purchasing choices, which is why we clearly label every product’s country of origin and fully comply with government guidelines on product from Israel.”

“Less than 0.1% of our food is sourced from Israel,” it said.

(Twitter: @Faizie143)