PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK

For the past two weeks PSN supporters have been emailing the 10 candidates running for the Mountain Equipment Co-op board of directors to ask their position on ending MEC sourcing from Israeli companies, in line with the Palestinian-led call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). We believe that having progressive candidates who are willing to consider ending MEC’s “partnerships” on the board is one important element in the Canada-wide campaign to get MEC to stop supporting occupation and apartheid by sourcing products from Israel.

We received responses from all 10 candidates, although numerous candidates used cut-and-paste responses, some of which were identical to those they used last year. Suggested voting and voting instructions are below.

SUGGESTED VOTING

PSN endorses and encourages you to vote only for candidate Dru Oja Jay.

One of Oja Jay’s planks specifically addresses the issue of social justice and MEC’s purchasing policy. We strongly encourage you to read the entire plank, but his own summary of his position is:

1. An ethical purchasing policy worthy of its name should not consider companies that benefit from war and occupation as ethical suppliers. I will work to change MEC’s policies to reflect this.

2. For member participation to be meaningful, it has to be based on informed, open debate accessible to all members.

In his plank, Dru states, “I propose that you can benefit from war and occupation, or you can be considered an ethical supplier, but not both.”

His position on the process in making the decision is as follows:

Speaking as a candidate for the board, I don’t believe that it is the role of board members to change MEC’s policy with regard to a single country. That kind of decision needs, minimally, the support of a plurality of the co-op’s three million members.

I also believe that it is entirely legitimate for co-op members to make political decisions of this type. Few disagree with boycotts of the deposed racist regime in South Africa today, but the anti-apartheid struggle at the time was hotly contested in a great many venues. (MEC’s minutes from the 1980s are not available, but it would be interesting to learn the history, particularly given the role of the international sports community in the boycott of Apartheid South Africa.)

As a board member, I would see it as my duty to ensure that the differing perspectives in the debate were accessible to all members, with a view to facilitating an informed decision in the event of a vote.

I do, however, believe that the board has a mandate from the membership to set high ethical standards for selecting suppliers.

We are also impressed by Oja Jay’s stated commitment to encouraging democratic participation of the membership of MEC. You can read his position on other issues on his campaign website.

Other Candidates

PSN does not think any other candidate has a sufficiently strong position on the issue of sourcing from Israel, but short summaries of the other candidate responses are as follows:

Gail Sullivan stated in her answer that “MEC must continue to actively research sources for MEC production that meets our members standards and share our corporate values” while admitting she needs more information on the issue.

Anders Ourum in his response stated “A policy that excluded products made in Israel or by Israeli companies, simply because they are Israeli, would make no sense.” He did say that “if elected, all I can say is that I’d be willing to support a look at this, and some informed discussion.”

Dominique Levesque responded “I will not take position on that kind of subject for now.”

Candidates Jonathan Gallo, Shauna Sylvestre, Shawn Mitchell, Blair Hammond, Bill Gibson and Morrie Schniderman all indicated they support MEC’s current sourcing policy.

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS

You can vote until March 31, 2011 (noon Pacific Time).

All MEC members 16 years of age or older who joined the Co-op on or before January 5, 2011 can vote for up to three candidates to fill vacancies on the board, but you can vote for less than three. We suggest you vote only for Dru Oja Jay.

Complete instructions are on the MEC election website.

You will need your membership number and a PIN, which you can get online.

You can vote online or by phone. Instructions on voting by phone are available here. Mail ballots are no longer available.

UPDATE from Stolen Beauty Boycott
January 13, 2011

Yesterday was quite a lively day! On January 12th, representatives of Canadian retailer The Bay acknowledged that the chain was no longer carrying cosmetics products from the Israeli company Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories, but said the “de-listing” was purely a business decision and not in response to any organized boycott. Whatever the reason for the decision, we applaud the fact that The Bay will no longer be supporting Ahava and its occupation profiteering, and we want to thank them for taking this stand (or read below on instructions on sending support emails to the Bay).

In January 2011, Canadians for Just Peace in the Middle East selected Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories settlement products as their consumer boycott target for the month. Previously our allies at Tadamon had organized protest actions against Ahava at The Bay in Montreal.

In response to the announced CJPME month-long boycott of Ahava, a local coalition calling itself “Buycott Israel” called for January 11th to be a day on which its members would purchase Ahava products. When the “buycotters” arrived at The Bay’s retail outlets, they discovered that shelves were bare of Ahava.

Will you act now and send a thank you note to The Bay’s President and CEO Bonnie Brooks, Chairman Richard Baker, and Director of Beauty Products Shelley Rozenwald?

The Bay is under pressure to reinstate sales of Ahava. Whether or not they cave, this issue has attracted press and public attention and the boycott will keep building! Please send a letter of thanks to The Bay today!

***

We have learned that in recent days Canadian retailer The Bay has discontinued sales of Ahava products and removed the products from their shelves. Canadian human rights activists, including our allies at Tadamon!, have had a campaign to ask The Bay to stop selling Ahava.

It is important that you take the time to thank The Bay for dropping Ahava. Your message of thanks is crucial as right-wing pro-occupation groups have already launched a campaign to berate and pressure The Bay to reinstate sales of Ahava. Codepink’s Stolen Beauty campaign has launched an online tool which makes it easy to send a message of support to Bay Chairman Baker, President and CEO Brooks, and Director Rozenwald. Send your message now!

You can also take the steps below to send a message of support!

1. Cut and paste the following emails into the To: field of your email program

richard.baker@hbc.com; bonnie.brooks@hbc.com; shelley.rozenwald@hbc.com

2. Enter “Thank you for dropping Ahava” or something similar into the Subject field of your email program.

3. Cut and paste the message below into the body of the email, and take a few minutes to personalize the message or right your own using the information below as a template.

Thank you for no longer carrying Ahava products. Whatever your reasons, your actions support human rights everywhere.

Ahava’s products are manufactured in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank. Ahava is co-owned by two illegal settlements, Mitzpe Shalem and Kahlia, which are subsidized by the company’s profits. Ahava cosmetics are labeled ‘Products of Israel’ when in fact they are made in the West Bank.

The Dutch Foreign Minister has called for an investigation into Ahava; A British Minister of Parliament recently denounced Ahvava’s labeling practices as “fraudulent”; and the European Union recently handed down a decision that settlement products, such as Ahava, are not covered by trade agreements between the E.U. and Israel.

According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, already 42% of the West Bank is consumed by the illegal settlement network, making a viable Palestinian state impossible. The settlements, including Mitzpe Shalem where Ahava is manufactured, are an impediment to peace.

So thank you for standing up for human rights and international law. We applaud you!

Sincerely,

4. Press send!

5. Use the share on Facebook or Twitter below to share this information with friends and encourage them to contact the Bay in support of the decision to drop Ahava products.

6. For additional impact you can also send snail mail support to the following addresses:

Richard Baker
The Hudson’s Bay Company
P.O. Box 223
Scarborough, ON M1K5C1
Canada

Bonnie Brooks
The Hudson’s Bay Company
P.O. Box 223
Scarborough, ON M1K5C1
Canada

Shelley Rozenwald
The Hudson’s Bay Company
P.O. Box 223
Scarborough, ON M1K5C1
Canada