We, the undersigned, deplore the Co-op Group’s discrimination against Israeli suppliers.
Egregious human rights abuses by dictatorships around the world do not trigger a boycott under the Co-op Group's Human Rights and Trade policy. However, companies from Israel, which is a democracy and the only free state in the Middle East, are singled out for boycotts.
Boycotting Israeli companies in this way has not had any positive impact on advancing peace.
The major impact has been to alienate from the Co-op Group a large section of the Jewish Community and other customers in the UK who are sympathetic to Israel.
Rather than the negative and divisive politics of boycotts, the Co-op Group should help bring Israeli and Palestinian co-operatives closer together to build peace and coexistence.
We call on the Co-op Group to drop this discriminatory and unjustifiable boycott of Israeli companies.