Pro-Palestine activists are targeting avocados and hummus in a campaign of direct action against Israeli products over the bloodshed in Gaza.
Campaigners have called for shoppers to boycott all Israeli foods, including dates and oranges, with activists planning to remove them from shop shelves.
In one Waitrose branch in Preston pro-Palestine activists have already been seen stripping avocados, hummus and dates they identified as Israeli from shelves and loading them into shopping trolleys.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has now launched a national campaign under the slogan “Don’t Buy Apartheid”, calling on individual consumers, shops, cafés and restaurants to boycott Israeli produce.
It has also urged a boycott of Coca-Cola and its subsidiary brands, which the PSC claims operate a regional distribution centre in an illegal Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.
Activists came together for an online PSC meeting on Wednesday to plan their action, which will include events across the country targeting Israeli produce sold by small independent shops and the major supermarkets.
One speaker urged supporters to adopt the tactics of the high-profile boycott of South Africa during the apartheid era.
‘Ostracising and intimidating’
The campaign, which includes a national day of action on April 5, will have been given added impetus by Israel’s renewed bombing of Gaza and news footage of dead and injured civilians, including children.
But it has been condemned for “ostracising and intimidating” British Jews and falsely comparing Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank with the Nazi persecution of the Jews and the apartheid regime.
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism told The Telegraph: “Once again, anti-Israel activists are resorting to the sort of boycott tactics that Jews have seen time and again over the centuries. More than four-fifths of British Jews feel that boycotts of Israeli products constitute intimidation, according to our polling.
“These campaigns make no difference to events abroad but make all the difference here at home in ostracising Jews and making their lives miserable. Perhaps that is the point.”
The PSC has published posters showing Israeli tanks loaded like supermarket trolleys with everyday food stuffs, with the slogan “No apartheid products in this shop”.
The PSC told supporters: “Israeli fresh produce, like avocados, oranges, herbs and dates, is grown in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land. When businesses in Britain sell this produce, they are supporting and profiting from Israel’s land theft and ethnic cleansing.”
Earlier in March, activists from the Chorley For Palestine examined avocados, dates and hummus for their country of origin before piling them into trolleys and replacing them with stickers accusing the Jewish state of genocide.
One man is seen on social media standing inside the store brandishing a loudspeaker, urging shoppers: “Boycott Israeli dates, Sabra hummus, avocados, olives and the rest. Look at the label.”
Adopting a slogan widely interpreted as calling for the end of the state of Israel, he tells passers-by: “Isolate the Zionist state. Sanctions now. Free free Palestine. Free free Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free. Victory to the Palestinian resistance.”
Draw inspiration from Bristol
During the online launch meeting supporters were urged to draw inspiration from Bristol, where activists have promised small retailers continued community support – but only if they join the boycott.
Owen Chambers, of Bristol Apartheid Free Zone, said: “What we’re doing... is going around to shops in the area, specifically targeting independent greengrocers at the moment. And we are saying your community will support these shops if you also pledge to stop stocking Israeli fresh produce.”
Ben Jamal, of the PSC, said: “By focusing together on the same targets across Britain, we can ensure that our boycott actions are causing real economic consequences for corporations that enable the Israeli apartheid.”
The campaign is aimed at stepping up the sporadic targeting of Israeli produce which has taken place since Israel’s military assault on Gaza began in response to the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct 7 2023, when more than 1,200 Jewish people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
An activist nicknamed #Hummus1 by his supporters was charged with destroying £150 worth of Sabra hummus in a Hastings Sainsbury’s branch in February 2024.
Chris Dindar pleaded not guilty to criminal damage before the Criminal Prosecution Service dropped the charge in January 2025 after deciding “there was not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction”.
In July 2024, Eoin Rua Davey was arrested for aggravated trespass after taking part in a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) protest targeting Israeli products at a Sainsbury’s branch in west Belfast.
Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service withdrew the case against him the following month, after it found that “the available evidence was insufficient to pass the test for prosecution”.
Mr Davey claimed his protest was one of 40 to 50 “direct actions” the BDS campaign carried out in Belfast each week.
Waitrose declined to comment on the Preston store events.
The British Retail Consortium said it was up to shoppers to make their own choices.
A spokesman said: “Retailers ensure all products in-store and online are clearly labelled with country of origin so customers can make their own informed choice about what they would like to buy.
“Customer and employee safety is of the upmost importance to retailers, and they will ensure stores are prepared for any potential disruption resulting from protests.”