Members of UK retailer The Co-operative Group (Co-op) have approved a motion urging the grocer to halt its commercial activities with Israel.
The motion was voted on during the annual general meeting held on 17 May, with 72.8% of Co-op members supporting the proposal and 27.2% in opposition.
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It referenced an earlier decision made in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, in which members voted to “boycott Russian products”.
The motion read: “We ask the board to demonstrate fairness and consistency in its ethical decision making, and cease all trading with Israel. The Co-op was the first supermarket to boycott Russian products in March 2022, a week after the invasion of Ukraine.
“We urge the board to show moral courage and leadership, apply the same ethical principles and values it did to Russia, and take all Israeli products off the shelves.”
Israel supplies produce items to the UK including citrus fruits, tomatoes, grapes and sweet potatoes.
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By GlobalDataIn response to the motion, The Co-op board said: “The nature of international food supply chains means that it is very often impossible, impractical or unsafe to stop sourcing products entirely from specific countries.”
Asked to comment on the result of the vote, the retailer sent Just Food a brief statement. ““Whilst the motion is advisory, we are currently reviewing our sourcing policies which we do from time to time. This is to ensure they reflect both our values and principles and views of our members, which they have made clear,” The Co-op said.
UK-based organisation Palestine Solidarity Campaign endorsed the result, arguing that any commerce involving Israeli companies “fuels Israel’s apartheid economy”.
UK Lawyers for Israel, a group of volunteer legal professionals, had written to The Co-op requesting the withdrawal of the motion.
UK Lawyers for Israel chief executive Jonathan Turner said: “Ceasing all trade with Israel, as proposed in the motion, while continuing to trade with many other countries involved in armed conflicts or engaging in very serious violations of human rights, would constitute racist discrimination against Israel.”
The Co-op, with over six million active member-owners, operates more than 2,300 food stores and has a workforce of 54,000.
Following a cyberattack last month, the company temporarily disabled parts of its digital infrastructure.
