[Boycott - Economic - World]

Unilever to sell stake in plant based in West Bank settlement

Toni O'Loughlin, The Guardian
1 December 2008

Beigel & Beigel factory on
illegal settlement of Ariel

Unilever, which makes household staples such as Sunsilk shampoo, Surf washing powder and Vaseline, said it would sell its 51% stake in the Beigel & Beigel factory in the West Bank settlement of Ariel.

The UK and Dutch-owned multinational has followed Harrods department store - which cleared its shelves of Beigel & Beigel products, such as pretzels, in August - and a campaign by Britain to crack down on Israeli settlement businesses that are allegedly dodging EU import taxes.

Unilever's announcement also came ahead of a report on its investment in the occupied territories by United Civilians for Peace, a Dutch human rights group.

UCP said the decision of Unilever, which defied the international boycott against South Africa during the apartheid era, showed that the firm was "serious" about international law and social responsibility.

But Unilever Israel, which bought half of Beigel & Beigel in 2001, said the move was strategic, not ethical.

"This decision has been taken with reluctance after a long period of analysis and review," it said.

"Following the divestment in recent years of a number of non-core businesses ... the decision has been reached to divest of its interests in the bakery business and will therefore seek to find a buyer for Unilever's share in the Beigel & Beigel partnership," the company said in a statement.

Ariel is one of three large Israeli settlement blocs that penetrate and separate northern and southern parts of the West Bank. It is surrounded by a network of roads that Palestinians are forbidden to use without special permission.

The settlement is built on land that Israel conquered in the 1967 Six Day war. According to UCP, the land for the Beigel & Beigel factory, in Ariel's Barkan industrial estate, was confiscated from the surrounding Palestinian villages in 1981 by a Israeli military order.

"International law prohibits the confiscation of occupied land not for military purposes," the UCP report says.

It also claims that Unilever is in effect supporting Ariel because it pays taxes to the Shomron regional council, which provides services such as rubbish disposal to Barkan. In return, Unilever receives, via Beigel & Beigel, some of the "generous" subsidies that Israel pays companies to produce in settlements.

Companies that operate in settlements also benefit from employing cheap Palestinian labour, the report says.

At Beigel & Beigel, 45% of the 140 workers are Palestinians from the surrounding villages whose land was confiscated for the construction. Most of them work on the assembly line operating machines and contrary to Unilever's own labour standards, they are not paid the Israeli minimum wage, the report claims.

Many workers are paid to work 46.5 hours a week but they often work 50 hours with no compensation. One worker, who must pass through a checkpoint gate to go home after work, told UCP that he is often unable to return to his village.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/01/israel-palestine-unilever

Unilever to sell West Bank plant

Michal Levertov, Jewish Chronicle
2008-12-04

The Anglo-Dutch company, the manufacturer of 400 brands in 150 countries, intends to sell its 51 per cent stake in the Beigel & Beigel pretzel factory, based in the Barkan industrial zone near the settlement of Ariel.

In October, Swedish company Assa Abloy decided to move a locksmith plant from the same industrial zone following NGO reports warning that companies may be subject to law suits over the violation of international law if their factories are located in such areas.

The Unilever announcement was made one day before the release of a report by a Dutch human rights group, United Civilians for Peace, alleging that the land on which the industrial zone is located was confiscated in 1981 from Palestinian villages by an Israeli military order, and that its current use as an industrial zone is therefore a violation of international law.

However, a Unilever Israel spokesman said that the company was simply rationalising and that “the decision has been reached to divest of its interests in the bakery business�.

He added: “The decision to seek a buyer for our stake in Beigel & Beigel has nothing to do with any arguments by lobby groups or any other interest group.

“The internal discussion in Unilever on this subject began many years ago and certainly well before any contact by any lobby group was made.�

About 120 Israeli businesses operate in the Barkan industrial zone. Four years ago, the Israeli company Barkan Wineries began moving its operations to Kibbutz Hulda, in southern Israel.

The move happened after the Israeli soft drinks concern Tempo, who holds ownership of the wineries, entered into a partnership with the Dutch beer company Heineken.

Britain has also been pressing the European Union to be stricter about labelling imports produced in settlements.

Source: http://www.thejc.com/articles/unilever-sell-west-bank-plant

Related Articles

Alert 6th Oct 2017 - Protest Apartheid Bank Leumi - UN Blacklisted Illegal Settlement Profiteer Out Of Our City! On 6th Oct 2017, Inminds will protest outside the UK headquarters of the Israeli Bank Leumi that has been blacklisted by the United Nations Human Rights Council for violating international law by profiteering from Israel's illegal settlements built on stolen Palestinian land.

Israeli academics to boycott settlement college At least 165 Israeli professors have declared a boycott against the illegal settlement college of Ariel. This follows in the footsteps of 150 Israeli artists who in 2010 boycotted a new performing arts center in Ariel.

Former EU leaders call to sanction and boycott Israel Twenty-six former European Union leaders, including the EU’s former top diplomat, Javier Solana, issued a letter last week calling for boycotts and sanctions targeting Israel due to settlement construction.

Sephora taken to court over products from Israeli brand Ahava LVMH-owned Sephora has been taken to court by the Palestinian rights organisation CAPJPO-EuroPalestine over the sale of cosmetics brand Ahava, which is produced in territories in the West Bank illegally occupied by Israel

Two Italian grocery chains to boycott Israeli produce Coop Italia and Nordiconad have announced that they will stop selling all Israeli products as they can not differentiate whether they came from West Bank settlements or inside the Green Line.

Hundreds rally over arrest of Israeli-Palestinian human rights activist Ameer Makhoul, the general director of the Palestinian NGO umbrella group in Israel, Ittijah, one of the key backers of a new Palestinian boycott on settlement goods has been arrested by the Israeli secret police, the Shin Bet.

Don't buy settlement goods, says TUC The British Trade Union Congress are today calling on consumers not to buy goods from illegal Israeli settlements.

Evidence - Lee Cooper trading in illegal Israeli settlement Revelations of some of the companies trading in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim and Bnei Yehuda - Lee Cooper, Tower Records, Western Union, Dr Fischer and Carmel Agrexco.

Swedish firm to quit West Bank

Israeli winery leaves premises in illegal West Bank settlement

Also Of Interest

Boycott Genocide Supporters There are many companies that support Israel and deserve to be boycotted, but this list of companies we have researched are particularly despicable in that they have ramped up their support for Israel, often specifically for the military, whilst it commits genocide in front of their eyes. Boycott genocide supporters now!

Boycott Apartheid Israel - A Select List Of 12 Targets Inminds has researched a select list of 12 targets to boycott - Help end Palestinian suffering by boycotting Israel today!

Quick Guide To Buying Dates This Ramadan Everything you need to know about buying dates - how to keep your family safe from stolen goods this Ramadan, in 90 seconds.

Boycott Israeli Dates - Ramadan 2021 New video launched for this years Ramadan Boycott Israeli Dates campaign. Please share widely!