Boycott Israel

COMPANY WRITE-UP

What evidence is there to prove that these companies targeted in the boycott campaign are guilty of supporting Israel and its apartheid policies?

Nestle

Nestle is the world's largest food company. Nestle's main presence in Israel is in Sderot, a settlement founded in 1951 one kilometer from the Gaza Strip which is built on the lands of the Palestinian town Al-Najd, which was ethnically cleansed in 1948.

Nestle began investing in Israel in 1995 by buying 10% of Israeli food maker Osem Investments, increasing its ownership to 50.1% two years later giving it the controlling share and now owns a 53.8 percent stake in Osem. Jointly with Osem, Nestle runs a 700 m2 factory in Sderot. In total, Nestle currently has over 4000 Israeli employees at 11 plants, with the following all in "development zones":Tzabar Salads (an Osem subsidiary) plant in Kiryat Gat (on the former site of Palestinian village Iraq al-Manshiyya, destroyed by Israelis after 1948); a ready-baked cakes factory in Ahihud; and a logistics center in Nachsholim (Al-Tantura).

The 1700 m2 Nestle Research & Development center in Sderot is considered particularly beneficial to Osem's growth as it gives [Osem] advantages in technological know-how and increased export opportunities through Nestle's distribution network. Nestle's investment in Osem has meant that its products can reach a global market. Of the 23 global development centers Nestle maintains globally, Osem is becoming a global training center for Nestle staff. It is producing a new breakfast cereal with a technology that is registered as a global patent.

To summarise, Nestle builds on stolen Palestinian lands and sells the products of such an apartheid system abroad so that the Israeli economy can flourish.It is no wonder that Nestle received from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 1998 the Jubilee Award, "the highest tribute ever awarded by the State of Israel in recognition of those individuals and organizations,that through their investments and trade relationships, have done the most to strengthen the Israeli economy."

Nestle must close its factories in Israel and sell its shares of Osem until Israel acknowledges the Palestinian right of return and right of nation on all historical Palestine. If Nestle knows that it cannot make enough profit in Israel to cover the costs of business lost in the rest of the world, it will have no choice but to divest from Israel.


Coca-Cola

It has been well known that Coca-Cola has been a supporter of Israel since 1966. There have been a number of recent events which clearly prove this.

In 1997, the Government of Israel Economic Mission honoured Coca-Cola at the Israel Trade Award Dinner for its continued support of Israel for the last 30 years and for refusing to abide by the Arab League boycott of Israel.

On October 11th 2001, Coca-Cola World Headquarters hosted and was the main sponsor of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce Eagle Star Awards Gala.

In February 2002, Coca-Cola teamed up with “Friends of Israel” and National Hillel to cosponsor a lecture given by the infamous zionist correspondent Linda Gradstein at the University of Minnesota.

In July 2002, it was announced that Coca-Cola was to build a plant on stolen Palestinian land at Kiryat Gat, in return for millions in incentives from the Israeli government. The new plant will be employing 700 Israelis. The land, Kiryat (Qiryat) Gat, has an industrial park built on the lands of the village of Iraq Al Manshiya. The residents were ethnically cleansed in 1949 in contravention of International Law. This land would have been part of Arab Palestine under the partition plan adopted by the United Nations in 1947. However, this has not been the case.

In October 2005, Coca-Cola increased its investment in Israel by buying a 51% controlling interest in the Tavor Winery. Tavor Winery is an Israeli company that is based on occupied Palestinian land at the foot of Mount Tavor, overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Coca-Cola’s support of Israel has helped to oppress the Palestinian people, and for this reason COMPLETE has included Coca-Cola as one of the companies to be boycotted.


L’Oreal

L’Oreal has been present in Israel since 1983 via the Migdal Ha’Emek plant. The settlement of this town was established in 1952 on lands belonging to the ethnically cleansed Palestinian village of al-Mujaydil, whose inhabitants are still denied the right to return to their homes. Like many other Israeli settlements in Palestinian villages, Migdal Ha-emek discriminates against Palestinian citizens of Israel, denying them the right to buy, rent or live on any part of the town, simply because they are “non Jews”.

To reinforce its presence in the country, it established L’Oreal Israel in 1994. L’Oreal Israel manufacturers a line of products using minerals that are from the Dead Sea. This line is called ‘Natural Sea Beauty’ that is exported to 22 countries. What is not known is that one third of the western shore of the Dead Sea lies in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. This part of the Dead Sea is closed to the Palestinians by Israeli military occupation and apartheid practices, while Israel uses the Dead Sea for international tourism, mining and other business activities.

L’Oreal has also awarded a $100,000 “lifetime achievement” award to a scientist at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science in July 2008. The Weizmann Institute has been a major centre for clandestine research and development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons on behalf of Israel’s military with which it has close ties.
For these reasons, COMPLETE calls upon the consumers of Malaysia and all over the world to boycott all products from L’Oreal.


McDonald’s

McDonald’s former chairman and CEO (1998-2002) Jack M. Greenberg was an honorary director of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Metropolitan Chicago.

According to the Chicago Jewish Community Online (website of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago), McDonald’s Corporation whose global headquarters is based just outside Chicago is a major corporate partner of the Jewish United Fund(JUF)/ Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. McDonald’s Corporation was honoured during JUF centennial celebration in 2000 as a first tier corporate partner to the cause of Zionism.

Through its Israel Commission, the JUF “works to maintain American military, economic and diplomatic support for Israel; monitors and,when necessary, responds to counter negative media coverage of Israel”.

The JUF runs its “Partnership to Israel” program with its twinned Israeli Lachish region, comprising the city of Kiryat Gat and the rural areas of Lachish and Shafir. It provides financial aid annually to help the development of Kiryat Gat and to promote further illegal settlements there. This city is built on stolen Palestinian land - the lands of the villages of Iraq al Manshiya and Al-Faluja whose residents were ethnically cleansed in 1949 in contravention of International Law.

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With all these facts and evidence illustrating McDonald’s Corporation unrelenting support to further consolidate the existence of these illegal settlements and causing unabated oppression of the Palestinians, COMPLETE has substantiated its demand to support the boycott of McDonald’s.

We choose to boycott as it keeps on the forefront of our mind the suffering of the Palestinians and puts Palestine on top of our agenda. Our aim is for the boycott to weaken those who oppress Palestinians and make consumers aware of products which are unethically produced. Employees should be made aware of the facts regarding the companies they work for especially if these companies contribute to the Zionists who cruelly oppress the Palestinians and deprive them of their homeland.