British Supermarket Demonstrators Throw Israeli Food Products
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Demonstrators in England attacked police and threw food products on the floor while calling on a local supermarket to stop selling Israeli food products.
The violent protest occurred Saturday at the Tesco supermarket in Hodge Hill, Birmingham, the Telegraph reported.
About 100 demonstrators had gathered for a protest of Israeli food products outside of the store. Then a smaller group of protesters holding Palestinian flags entered the store and started pushing over piles of food products, according to the British newspaper.
In July, Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain, announced it would stop selling products sourced in the West Bank by September.
Tesco also has stores in Europe, North America and Asia.
Tesco, which was founded by Jewish businessman Jack Cohen, has been at the center of a number of controversies concerning its policies on Israel-related products. In 2009, pro-Israel groups criticized the chain for setting up a special helpline at its customer service phone line to field complaints about stocking Israeli products. In 2013, protesters from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement placed yellow stickers on Israeli products in the chain’s stores in Ireland.
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