Lifestyle/Community
BDS and co boast victory in anti-Woolworths campaign
The National Coalition for Palestine (NC4P) boasted in a media release last week that Woolworths’ court order against Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions SA “to try and prevent the #BoycottWoolworths campaign and protest actions” had failed.
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Woolworths has been targeted for stocking some foodstuffs imported from Israel. BDS-SA has been spearheading the campaign in South Africa.
BDS-SA insists that the company cease importing any Israeli products.
NC4P said in the release the court order against BDS-SA “which BDS South Africa intends on fully respecting”, did not extend to other organisations. It added that “several Woolworths stores have been affected by the monthly #BoycottWoolworths National Day of Action that took place… across South Africa”.
BDS-SA “as an organisation, has agreed in good faith to refrain from in-store protest actions. The court order which BDS South Africa intends on fully respecting, however, does not extend to other organisations and/or entities which are not a part of BDS South Africa.
“Branches of the PSA, PSC, ANC, ANC Youth League, YCL, EFF, NC4P, Cosas and students belonging to the South African Students Congress (Sasco) as well as others, were seen in and outside of various Woolworths stores throughout the day staging flash mobs, pickets and other forms of protest. According to reports, some stores were forced to temporarily close while others were brought to a complete standstill.”
NC4P in whose name the release was issued, boasts that “while Woolworths is attempting to prevent the #BoycottWoolworths campaign, Woolworths’s strategy is proving unsuccessful. Woolworths needs to realise that they can try to cage the singer but not the song.
“Woolworths can try to stop BDS South Africa, a single organisation, but the campaign has thousands of supporters and other organisations that are continuing the #BoycottWoolworths campaign.
“The way to resolve this is for Woolworths to have the courage to do what other retailers are doing across the world: end ties with apartheid Israel till it ends its oppression of the Palestinian people.”