Morocco BDSers win battle over Israeli dates, but are losing the war

Moroccan BDS activists announced that they managed to intimidate dozens of produce wholesalers in the country to stop selling Israeli dates, especially ahead of Ramadan when the demand for dates is high.

One of the merchants confirmed to the media that the requests by wholesalers to buy Israeli dates have ended "as a result of the success of the pressure campaign."

One activist said, "How can we accept the existence of this product on our plates, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, knowing that what we spend on these dates contributes to the perpetuation of the Israeli occupation and oppression of the people of our beloved Palestine?

This article says that the campaign was kickstarted by a Jewish anti-Zionist who noticed the Israeli goods in markets earlier this year.

This is hardly the first time that the issue has come up. Al Jazeera wrote about the exact same phenomenon of Israeli dates coming to Morocco ahead of Ramadan some ten years ago.

However, the amount of Israeli goods entering Morocco has been steadily increasing, from watermelons to chocolates to clothing to electronics.

How do these goods enter the Arab nation?

Importers in the autonomous Spanish areas of Ceuta and Melilla are bringing them in from Spain. Thousands of Moroccans flock to the enclaves daily to buy Western-made goods at discount.

One importer started to remove any tags that showed that the goods were from Israel, but consumers demanded to know where they were from. This didn't stop them from wanting to buy them.

One merchant said, "Many people in the beginning rejected (Israeli goods,) but with the passage of time some people began to, and some do not care about the source, even if it is Israeli. When they see quality goods they buy."

Whether the BDSers actually won this battle is hard to know because they are the only ones relaying this news. But they are definitely losing the war, as the amount of Israeli exports to Morocco has been steadily increasing year after year. 

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