A zero-waste grocer in downtown London, Ont., is asking other local businesses to follow its lead and show solidarity with Palestinian people.
On Tuesday, Reimagine Co declared itself an “Apartheid Free Zone,” meaning it will no longer sell any products with ties to Israeli settlements.
The declaration comes amid escalating violence in the Gaza Strip that has claimed the lives of more than 200 Palestinians, including dozens of children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Apartheid Free Zones campaign stems from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a Palestinian-led effort that primarily advocates through promoting boycotts, divestments and economic sanctions against Israel.
Heenal Rajani, the co-founder of Reimagine Co, says he had long been a supporter of the BDS movement, but learned about the Apartheid Free Zones campaign through a mistake his shop made last year.
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“Despite being a supporter of the BDS movement, we were selling Dead Sea salts… one of our supporters sent us a message on social media saying, ‘you shouldn’t be selling these because they come from the occupied territories’,” Rajani said.
“So we started educating ourselves on where do our products come from and what we can do about it.”
The declaration earned praise from Muhammad Awawdeh, one of the organizers of a massive vehicle rally in London last week that showed solidarity with Palestinian people.
“It truly has made it a little bit easier for us to kind of cope with the pain that we are all feeling seeing all of these horrific images,” said the Palestinian-Canadian speaking to the support received from Reimagine Co, as well as those who turned out to last week’s rally.
Awawdeh says he and his fellow organizers want more local businesses to declare themselves Apartheid Free Zones. He also wants a similar declaration from London’s city council, along with a public statement condemning Israeli attacks in Gaza.
As for all other Londoners, Awawdeh says learning about the issues is a good first step to becoming an ally.
“Just having that sense of understanding and then doing your civic duty to hold your leaders accountable, that is the first step,” Awawdeh said.
“This is not a conflict, this is occupation. There is literally no way to be neutral in matters of injustice, otherwise you’re just complicit.”
Tuesday’s announcement also garnered support from other local activist groups, including the London chapter of Independent Jewish Voices.
“Being Jewish isn’t being Israeli,” said Sara Rans, speaking on behalf of the group. “We cannot allow the Israeli government to be the spokesperson for Jews.”
Other supporting groups included People for Peace London and the London Chapter of The Council of Canadians.
Last week’s vehicle rally marked the first demonstration in London organized by Awawdeh and his peers that calls on support for Palestinians, but more actions are on the way.
“As the aggression continues and as human suffering continues, we will continue to have our voice heard,” Awawdeh said.
“We will try to be as loud as possible to make sure that there is a principled approach to this.”
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