“Our Motion called on the Co-op’s Board to ‘show moral courage and leadership… and take all Israeli products off the shelves.’”
By Paul Neill
The 17th May 2025 was an historic day for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. The Co-op Group’s AGM voted for Motion 13 – to stop all trading with Israel. The Co-op has 6.5 million members and is one of the biggest supermarket chains in the UK, with over 2,500 food stores. The 73% vote in favour of the Motion gives them a clear mandate to take action and be the first major supermarket to boycott Israel, putting down a marker for their competitors on the high street.
The result of the vote was announced at the pro-Palestine rally, attended by 500,000, that took place in London on the day of the AGM. It could be end up being a turning point for the BDS movement and the ongoing fight for peace and justice for Palestine
I was part of a small group of Palestine solidarity activists in West Yorkshire who drafted and submitted the Motion, which was signed by Co-op members across the UK. The Co-op was the first supermarket to boycott Russian products, just one week after the invasion of Ukraine. It is now 600 days since the genocidal bombardment of Gaza began. This has been accompanied by an increase in attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank, destruction of homes and displacement of thousands of residents of refugee camps. Our Motion called on the Co-op’s 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.”
We believe that the Co-op’s CEO, Shirine Khoury-Haq – who is of Palestinian/Turkish heritage – and her colleagues on the Board genuinely care about this issue. However, they are not obliged to implement the Motion. As an Individual Member’s Motion, it is treated as ‘advisory’ by the Co-op, as they would not want to feel forced to take action that would harm the Co-op brand or significantly damage their commercial interests. This will do neither – it will enhance the Co-op’s reputation as a progressive, ethical retailer, increase its distinctiveness on the high street, and very much reflect and respond to public opinion on Israel’s criminal actions.
The Co-op has commenced a review of its Trading Policy, which will report in late summer, and we would expect that to confirm the boycott of Israeli products. There is, of course, no reason why they couldn’t immediately stop stocking Israeli products – as they did with Russian vodka. Why wait another few months while thousands more civilians are killed from bombing and starvation and Israel continues to pursue its aim of forcibly moving the whole population out of Gaza?
We know that there will be many powerful, countervailing forces working hard to intimidate and threaten the Co-op into taking no action. So, we need to keep the pressure on the Board to do the right thing. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and local groups of activists are currently discussing next steps, but there are two immediate things we can do:
- Sign the Avaaz petition that calls on the Co-op to uphold the ban on Israeli products:
“The Co-op has a long and proud history of doing the right thing: making ethical decisions in the produce they stock and sell. The vote to ban Israeli produce is just another example of Co-op members standing for peace and justice. Now, the board must follow through and implement it in full.”
- Write to the Co-op Chair and senior executives, demanding that they follow through on Motion 13 without delay:
- Debbie White, Co-op Group Chair – debbie.white@coop.co.uk
- Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op Group CEO – shirine.khoury-haq@coop.co.uk
- Dominic Kendal-Ward, Co-op Group Secretary – dominic.kendal-ward@coop.co.uk
- Matt Hood, Co-op MD for Food stores – matt.hood@co-operative.coop
Co-op members have spoken, and the Co-op now needs to respect, and abide by, their wishes. It has to stop trading with Israel. We will not stop this campaign until that happens.
- Paul Neill is a Co-op member and a Palestine Solidarity Campaign activist in West Yorkshire.
- Join Palestine Solidarity Campaign here.
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