Trader Joe’s prides itself on delivering great products at fair prices. And we agree that they deliver on that promise. So, when we saw that our favorite food store is now selling Passover Matzo made in Israel we had to act.
Trader Joe’s also has a reputation for being responsive to customers, so we started this campaign to tell them how disappointed we are in their decision to sell house branded Matzo prominently marked as a “product of Israel” or any other products labeled as “made in Israel.”
In support of the Palestinian Civil Society’s call to boycott all Israeli products, we never purchase Israeli-made products at Trader Joe’s or anywhere else, but that no longer feels like enough. It is important that we tell stores, and the good people who work in them, why we boycott Israel and how badly it reflects on stores when they sell products made in Apartheid Israel. Store executives need to know that selling products made in Israel supports a nation that has occupied another people’s land and that maintains apartheid regulations targeted against all non-Jews.
We’ve seen over this past year, how many businesses no longer do business with Russia and how many Americans are refusing to buy products made there in response to their aggression in Ukraine, and this is no different- except that the aggression and human rights abuses have been going on for over 75 years. Most successful businesses respond to their customers, and we expect that if enough of us raise our voices and educate their management, Trader Joe’s will listen to us.
Friends sometimes ask why we boycott all Israeli products, not just those made in illegal settlements, and there are two simple responses. Israel labels all products “Made in Israel,” whether or not that is true. The Israeli economy is so totally integrated that every aspect of the society, from banking to manufacturing to shipping, has ties to the occupation and helps generate revenue that is used to support the systemic oppression of Palestinians. So, the actual site of the factory is irrelevant.
Our message to Trader Joe’s is clear and direct:
We feel good about shopping at Trader Joe’s for its outstanding value by selling quality products at the best prices. That’s why we are disappointed to find that Trader Joe’s is selling Passover Matzo made in Israel.
As long as Israel maintains the illegal occupation of Palestine and treats Palestinians as second-class citizens, we can’t feel good about buying Matzo or any other products made in Israel.
We hope that many people will join us by printing out this note to Trader Joe’s, signing it, and giving it to a manager in every Trader Joe’s that you shop in:
These are easy conversations to have with Trader Joe’s customer-friendly crew members and with community members. While you are in the store, take a selfie in front of the store’s Matzo display and post it on social media asking your friends and followers to join us in telling Trader Joe’s to stop selling all Israeli products, creating a compassionate campaign for the justice and freedom Palestinians deserve.
Boycott Trader Joes. People are being killed, lands stolen, have to live under terrible conditions, and Trader Joes seems indifferent that they have no freedom or rights.