Pro-Israel Advocates Rally Support for Trader Joe’s Amid Calls for Israeli Product Boycott

Edited by: Fern Sidman

As Trader Joe’s comes under increasing pressure from anti-Israel activists to halt the sale of Israeli products, the pro-Israel organization EndJewHatred has mobilized supporters to rally behind the popular grocery chain. According to an article that appeared last Monday on The Algemeiner web site, this situation stems from a recent petition led by Code Pink, an anti-Israel group that supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The petition calls on Trader Joe’s to stop carrying products from Israel, claiming that these items support a regime that allegedly disregards international law and Palestinian rights.

Code Pink’s petition targets specific Israeli products carried by Trader Joe’s, including feta cheese, Dorot crushed garlic and ginger cubes, and the popular Israeli snack Bamba. The petition, which has gathered around 14,000 signatures with a goal of 15,000, reads, “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 document further urges Trader Joe’s to “be on the right side of history” by ceasing its Israeli product sales.

Code Pink’ s boycott of Trader Joes goes down as a #BDS fail pic.twitter.com/S6z3STxGFG

— Anarcho-Zionist #JusticeforMalkiRoth (@AnarchoZionist) November 5, 2024

Supporters of Code Pink have taken their protest directly to Trader Joe’s locations. According to the report  at The Algemeiner, activists posted a video in mid-October that shows them inside a Trader Joe’s store, where they sang songs encouraging the boycott of Israeli goods and removed Israeli products from shelves. They labeled the aisle containing Bamba snacks as “the apartheid aisle” and “genocide aisle.” In a particularly graphic display, one protester held up Dorot’s crushed garlic cubes, claiming they looked like they were “dripping in blood” and saying, “I can see children being killed.”

EndJewHatred has responded by launching its own campaign, encouraging pro-Israel supporters to “show Trader Joe’s some love” by purchasing Israeli-made products from the stores. The Algemeiner report indicated that the organization is asking customers to call Trader Joe’s customer relations department to thank the company for carrying Israeli goods, reinforcing the idea that many shoppers value these items and appreciate their availability. EndJewHatred also encourages supporters to leave positive feedback about Israeli products on Trader Joe’s website, aiming to show Trader Joe’s that there is strong demand for these items.

In the face of these protests, Trader Joe’s store managers have found themselves in a challenging position. According to the information provided in The Algemeiner report, the video that was shared by Code Pink shows anti-Israeli agitators confronting a store manager who expressed empathy for their concerns but explained that store-level employees have no control over product sourcing decisions. “Trader Joe’s, as a corporation, makes merchandising decisions at a higher level,” she clarified. This response highlights that any decision to remove Israeli products would be corporate rather than individual store-level policy.

The campaign by EndJewHatred is a clear response to a broader movement that seeks to discourage the presence of Israeli products in international markets. As The Algemeiner report noted, this counter-campaign reflects growing grassroots support among pro-Israel advocates who seek to combat  attempts to marginalize Israel economically and politically. EndJewHatred’s focus on positive engagement, calling on supporters to buy Israeli products and express appreciation to Trader Joe’s, represents a contrasting approach to the confrontational tactics employed by Code Pink activists.

This situation has also highlighted the broader tension between advocacy and activism in the public sphere, where grocery stores and other retail chains increasingly become arenas for larger social and political statements. As The Algemeiner report observed, the pressure on Trader Joe’s reflects the wider impact of the BDS movement and the divisive questions it raises for businesses about balancing diverse consumer demands against politically charged calls for change. For now, Trader Joe’s has continued to carry Israeli products despite the petition, and the support from organizations such as EndJewHatred suggests that a significant segment of Trader Joe’s customers view this as a positive decision.

Ultimately, as The Algemeiner report emphasized, the ongoing campaigns—both for and against the presence of Israeli goods at Trader Joe’s—are a microcosm of the larger debate surrounding the BDS movement and the role of corporations in navigating complex geopolitical issues. For Trader Joe’s, the response from both sides reflects the significance of its choices in the eyes of consumers who see these products as symbols of much more than simple grocery items.