The “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement in Morocco” (BDS Morocco) continues its campaigns to boycott products from Israel. Its latest target: Israeli dates, a product widely consumed by Moroccans during Ramadan.
“Let’s ensure our tables are free of occupation dates.” This is the slogan launched by BDS Morocco as part of its Ramadan campaign against Israeli dates. The movement has urged Moroccans to “boycott Israeli products, stay vigilant, and avoid unreliable commercial brands.” It suspects some importers of Israeli dates are using deceptive methods to introduce them into the Moroccan market—either through Palestinian or Jordanian companies or via Moroccan firms handling packaging and distribution. BDS specifically calls out “L’île de Fruits,” promoted by the store “Oncle Achour” and linked to the importer “Ito Food.” This company allegedly isn’t registered with the commerce registry or listed with Morocco’s National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA).
“Morocco is a date-producing country, but it doesn’t achieve self-sufficiency, which forces it to import dates from various countries, mostly Arab nations. However, these dates undergo health inspections by the relevant authorities,” Bouazza El Kharrati, president of the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights, told Al3omk. He confirmed that “some dates are imported through Israel, sparking controversy due to the war waged by occupation forces against the Palestinian people.” According to him, another country—Algeria—is also using underhanded tactics to harm Morocco by illegally selling its dates on the Moroccan market.
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“There are traders with no patriotic sense who promote Algerian dates in markets, which is deplorable from a consumer rights standpoint. Algeria has been trying to harm Morocco for years, and its goods are sold openly. This is a national betrayal,” El Kharrati denounced. He noted that “Algeria severed diplomatic ties with Morocco, closed its land, air, and sea borders, and halted natural gas exports to damage the national economy.” He added: “No one has objected to Algerian dates in our markets, which is a disgrace for Moroccan date traders.”
The consumer rights advocate pointed out that “Israel is a friend of Morocco due to the significant Moroccan Jewish community living in the kingdom. So far, Israel hasn’t harmed Morocco—unlike Algeria, which uses every illegal means to tarnish the country’s image.” He continued: “Israel took Moroccan dates, developed them in recent years, and became a producer. However, the packaging of these products is banned internationally under World Trade Organization laws prohibiting date counterfeiting. Investigations into this are essential.”
