Group Calls For Boycott Of French Supermarket That Removed Israeli Produce
(JTA) — A French-Jewish watchdog on anti-Semitism has called for a boycott of a supermarket where staff was seen removing Israeli produce at the request of a shopper who complained citing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and violence in Gaza.
The Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA, on Monday also said in a statement that it had complained to police about the incident, which was filmed last month at the store of the Carrefour supermarket chain in the Parisian suburb of Chambourcy.
Selling dates from the brand Sun on Ramadan “is an affront to Muslim shoppers,” a man rapidly speaking in French tells the manager, citing “what they are doing in Gaza.” The manager is seen placing the packages of dates in a trolley and removing them from the shelf as the man who complained about the dates thanks him.
The complainant is seen telling a shopper about a different brand of dates: “These are good, they’re from Algeria.”
The Israeli dates were later returned to the shelves, a Carrefour spokesperson told Le Figaro in an article published Monday. Carrefour “offers merchandise from adheres to a strict neutrality on politics, philosophy and religion,” the spokesperson added.
CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish communities, told Le Figaro that the boycott actions “are mixed in with anti-Semitic acts. Through Israel, the Jews are targeted here.” CRIF has also filed police complaints against boycott actions such as the one documented last month in Chambourcy. Sammy Ghozlan, a leader of BNVCA, in a statement condemned what he called the actions of “an Islamist police” in French supermarkets.
BNVCA said the act was “discriminatory.” Promoting a boycott against a nation is illegal in France, where dozens of activists for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel have been convicted for inciting hatred or discrimination.
Contact Alyssa Fisher at fisher@forward.com
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
