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Pro-Israel Supporters Encouraged to Back Trader Joe’s as Chain Faces Pressure to Boycott Israeli Products
Bamba snacks for Trader Joe’s. Photo: Trader Joe’s.
A pro-Israel activist organization is urging the public to show support for Trader Joe’s as the chain of grocery stores faces pressure to stop stocking Israeli products in support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against the Jewish state.
The anti-Israel activist group Code Pink recently launched a petition pressuring Trader Joe’s to stop selling Israeli products in its stores “until Israel respects international law and human rights for Palestinians.” The items mentioned in the petition include Israeli feta cheese, Bamba puffed peanut snacks, and crushed garlic and ginger cubes from the Israeli brand Dorot.
“While Trader Joe’s claims it is ‘transforming grocery shopping into a welcoming journey full of discovery and fun,’ it is certainly not fun to discover that — one year into this genocide — you are still carrying Israeli products,” the petition reads. “We urge you to be on the right side of history. Stop stocking Israeli goods in your stores until Israel ends the occupation, respects international law, and ensures full and equal rights for Palestinians.” The petition has garnered a little more than 14,000 signatures and has a goal of reaching 15,000.
In response, the pro-Israel activist organization EndJewHatred launched a counter-campaign over the weekend, calling on its supporters to “show Trader Joe’s some love” and purchase the Israel-made items from their local Trader Joe’s locations. Pro- Israel supporters are being urged to call the customer relations department at Trader Joe’s and tell the representative on the line, or leave a message, saying: “Thank you for carrying Israeli products! I’m so appreciative that I am able to buy products made in Israel.” EndJewHatred said supporters can also leave possible feedback about Israeli products on the Trader’s Joe’s website.
In mid-October, activists in support of Code Pink shared a video on social media of them visiting a Trader Joe’s store, where they sang loudly about a boycott of Israeli products and pulled Israeli items off shelves. The section of the store that carried the Israeli snack Bamba was referred to as “the apartheid aisle” and “genocide aisle” by protesters in the video. Another protester said that when she looks at the Dorot crushed garlic cubes from Israel that is sold in Trader Joe’s, it looks like the item “is dripping in blood.”
“I can see children being killed,” she claimed, while holding the frozen product. “I can’t even look at it,” another activist added.
The protesters in the clip also approached the store manager, who explained that while she “completely sympathizes” with their concerns, stores have no say in merchandising decisions. “We, as store managers, cannot do anything about this — in terms of supplies. Trader Joe’s, as a corporation, makes merchandising decisions, at a higher level,” the manager said.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
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