Cactus, the largest supermarket chain in Luxembourg, announced this week that it is succumbing to pressure from the Boycott, Divest & Sanction (BDS) movement against Israel, and effectively banning all Israeli produce from its locations.
The chain confirmed that they would reconsider their decision, however, for those products that are not produced or manufactured in the West Bank.
A member of the European Union, Luxembourg does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Palestinian territories like East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza.
Recently, there’s been a growing chorus of anti-Israel sentiment brewing in Europe, notably since last year’s 50-day war between Hamas terrorists and the IDF. According to Israel Export Institute chairman Ramzi Gabbay, as stated in an interview with Ynet News, “The consumer boycott of Israeli goods primarily affects agricultural and fresh produce, as it is marked as made in Israel.”
During, and following, Operation Protective Edge, pro-Palestinian protesters throughout France, Ireland, Scandinavia, and other regions marched into supermarkets and forcefully withdrew Israeli products from the shelves.
Cactus reportedly received immense pressure from the pro-Palestinian group The Comite pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient (Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East) to join the boycott against Israel. Citing that income from Israeli produce already isn’t that high, they decided to ban all Israeli “settlement” products.
The chain, however, will continue to sell Israeli-made products like SodaStream. According to Ynet, Israel’s embassy in Brussels has been pushing for Cactus to reverse their decision.
