An anti-Israel group calling itself the New Mexico Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Committee will be leading an effort on Sunday, February 28th, between 12:00pm and 2:00pm at Trader Joe’s in Albuquerque (Uptown) in their on-going “de-shelving campaign of Israeli consumer products.” This is part of the same group responsible for the anti-Israel billboards seen around Albuquerque.

While some may dismiss this as the efforts of a small group of local anti-Israel activists, we regard BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) groups with the utmost seriousness and urgency.

Trader Joe’s has assured the Anti-Defamation League that they will not acquiesce to this boycott demand and will continue to sell Israeli products. We urge friends of Israel to make a point of thanking Trader Joe’s management for stocking Israel products and by purchasing Israeli foods anytime you shop.

Israeli products at Trader Joe’s include: Dorot Crushed Garlic; Dorot Chopped Cilantro; Holyland Matzos; Pastures of Eden Feta Imported; Trader Joe’s Israeli Couscous, and Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend.

Background

• In recent years, the campaign to delegitimize and demonize Israel has intensified. This campaign distorts the history and national aspirations of the Jewish people to live in peace in a homeland to which we have been connected continuously and profoundly for more than three millennia.

• The legitimate right of Israel to defend itself from terror often is ignored, and the campaign to delegitimize Israel serves as a distraction from the critical task of trying to bring peace to the Middle East.

• BDS campaigns suggest that international pressure can replace efforts to negotiate in good faith. These activities detract from the goal of a lasting and solid peace based on co-existence and productive economic relations.

• To be clear: Israeli policy and actions are not beyond criticism; but we have witnessed a continuing flow of inaccurate charges of human rights violations and outrageous comparisons of Israel to apartheid South Africa and even to Nazi Germany.

• Common to most BDS calls are distortions and outright fabrications of facts, misrepresentations of international law, and a false assertion that the proffered action somehow will improve the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Often, the very existence of a state for the Jewish people is perceived as the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• Those opposed to the existence of the State of Israel are tenacious and will continue to intensify their campaign globally, within local communities and on the campuses. It is imperative that our community remain vigilant to the BDS campaign and respond to it with vigor.

• Unless effectively countered, over time BDS efforts may have the corrosive effect of changing the culture of political discussion and making it harder for people of goodwill to publicly support Israel. If support for Israel begins to be seen as de facto racism, this could provide fertile ground for the growth of anti-Semitism.

• Those seeking to hasten peace should focus on efforts of reconciliation, including investment in the many meaningful coexistence programs that are necessary to foster a generation of Israelis and Palestinians, which will work and live side-by-side and move past the teaching of hate and violence.