#BoycottZionistDates — With Ramadan coming up, we hope to ensure that no one breaks their fast with dates that support occupation and genocide. Read the information below and learn how you can take action in your community.

Nearing half a year of genocide in Gaza, and with the holy month of Ramadan approaching, it is essential to highlight that many of the dates with which Muslims break their fast around the world are actually products of zionist companies profiting from stolen Palestinian land and labor.

Since Within Our Lifetime’s founding in 2015, we have been going out into our communities to educate small business owners who sell dates as well as people on the street shopping for them about what brands to boycott. Over the years, we have seen multiple stores de-shelve dates produced by zionists leading up to and during the holy month of Ramadan. As we come together with our families and communities, we call on all those who stand for Palestinian liberation to continue to boycott dates from the zionist entity throughout Ramadan and to ensure that you do not break your fast with products that are funding genocide. 

As Palestinians continue to resist the zionist entity and its escalating attacks on Gaza, it remains imperative for our communities to limit and drain funding for this genocide. 80% of all zionist-grown dates are exported, generating over $200 million in value for the colonial occupation in recent years and making it one of their most lucrative exports. As we have seen in recent months, targeted boycotts of companies who are complicit in the zionist entity’s campaign of genocide have been effective in hurting their bottom line. No zionist company should be making money off of the exploitation of Palestinian land and labor as well as the co-optation of Islamic traditions. 

Palestine’s fertile land has been a center of agricultural life for centuries, known for its delicious dates. Now, these dates are grown on stolen land and, in order to evade boycotts, they are often disguised using labels such as: Jordan Valley, West Bank (settlements), or ‘produce of more than one country.’ These terms are used to obscure the fact that these dates are being grown by zionist settlers on Palestinian land. Please be mindful of these devious marketing ploys.

Many of the mainstream date companies out there, such as Jordan River, are actually Israeli owned companies profiteering from Ramadan by obscuring their origin. Jericho, in the West Bank, has some of the most fertile land in the world, but under zionist occupation, zionist settlers have stolen our date trees and factories for decades. Reports have found that 40-60% of zionist dates are grown on settlements in the West Bank.

Oftentimes, these zionist companies exploit not only Palestinian land, but Palestinian labor as well. These conglomerates purposely recruit Palestinian laborers, particularly children, to conduct the grueling and hazardous work for meager compensation. Hadiklaim and Carmel Agrexco, in particular, have been accused of using child labor and paying less than the minimum wage. Date-field workers must climb high ladders and work for hours until their quotas are filled, placing them at risk for heatstroke and other injuries – again, only for the zionist entity’s profit.

Historically, Ramadan is a time when the zionist entity escalates its aggression against the Palestinian people by attacking worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque, raiding cities in the West Bank, and bombing Gaza. This year, the escalation will be contextualized by the zionist entity’s genocide in Gaza, where our people have been subject to the most ruthless forms of destruction, famine, and displacement for over four months. We are reminded of the Palestinians in northern Gaza, who have nothing to eat because the zionist entity attacks humanitarian aid convoys that approached them. We are reminded of the Palestinians in southern Gaza, who are subjected to the most cruel forms of torture, who are being bombed endlessly, who are facing the threat of a ground invasion that would force them out of Palestine and into the Sinai Desrt at the beginning of Ramadan. We are reminded of the Palestinians in Al-Quds, who are routinely barred from entering Al-Aqsa or face tear gas and rubber bullets while praying. We are reminded of the Palestinians living in ‘48, who have already been denied entry into Al-Aqsa during the holy month.

As Palestinians observe Ramadan under genocide, occupation, and in exile around the world, we are reminded of our people’s steadfastness. This takes shape not only through resistance movements and mass mobilizations, but through the practice of our faith, our culture, and our tradition — all rooted in our relationship to the land of Palestine. As we come together this holy month, we cannot allow our faith to be co-opted into funding zionist settler-colonialism. We cannot rightly break our fast using dates that are the product of Palestinian exploitation and the source of zionist profit. 

Stand with Palestine

If your business proudly boycotts zionist dates, let us know by emailing wol.palestine@gmail.com with the subject “This Business Stands with Palestine” and we will bring you a high-quality poster to put up on your storefront so that your customers knows they will not be breaking their fast while support occupation and genocide. If you want WOL to follow up with any stores, fill out this form. It is crucial to remind one another to join the boycott, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

If your Masjid or community center would like to encourage neighboring businesses to boycotts zionist dates, let us know by emailing wol.palestine@gmail.com with the subject “This Community Stands with Palestine” and we will bring you a high-quality poster to put up on your door and help with outreach in the area.

Organize to #BoycottZionistDates in your community

Spread the word in your neighborhood, talk with local shop owners, and make sure that your community knows which date companies to boycott during Ramadan. Use the list of brands below as a reference for what brands to boycott and find downloadable info sheets you can share to make sure that your community boycotts zionist dates as well as posters to give to stores who do. If a grocer sells brands with an zionist label, ask to speak with someone about replacing these products. If they do not sell any, thank them and share the list anyway.

BRANDS TO BOYCOTT