South African activists #BoycottWoolworths for selling Israeli goods
Palestine advocates storm stores and call for a nationwide boycott of retail chain until it ends its ties with Israeli companies.
South African activists have vowed to protest outside Woolworths stores, one of the country’s largest retail chains, until the company cuts its ties with Israeli companies.
On Monday, protests were led outside the company’s headquarters in Cape Town. Over the weekend, Palestine advocates held a national “day of action”, storming Woolworths stores throughout South Africa, reportedly causing some stores to temporarily close.
Led by the Africa National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and South Africa’s Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the group of activists calls on Woolworths to “terminate its trade relations with Israel until Israel ends its violations of international law.” The company contends no products come from the occupied Palestinian territories and that it labels the country of origin of all its products to respect customer purchasing choices.
Online, #BoycottWoolworths, a hashtag launched earlier this year, reemerged in support of the ongoing protest: