On Thursday March 11, H&M will open its first Israeli store in Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Center. The Swedish fashion giant plans to open seven outlets in Israel, with a store opening in Jerusalem on Tuesday, March 16. Of course, the boycott brigade has now targeted H&M, with protests planned at H&M stores worldwide on March 11 and 16.

Please contact H&M to express your support for its expansion into Israel. To find contact information for your country, use the pull-down menu on this H&M web page (currently set to Canada): http://www.hm.com/ca/abouthmcom/contact__contact.nhtml

Attention Mountain Equipment Co-Op Members and Friends of Israel:

Vote YES on all MEC Special Resolutions.

For the last year, Israel supporters across Canada have been working towards preventing anti-Israel forces from imposing a boycott of Israeli goods on MEC.

This year, 5 special resolutions are being brought forward for electronic voting prior to the MEC annual meeting. Approving these resolutions will change MEC’s governance rules so as to make it much more difficult for anti-Israel forces to hijack future MEC annual meetings. Only current MEC members can vote on these special resolutions.

While we do not endorse specific candidates, this article may be of interest.

If you are a MEC member as of January 8, 2010, go to the MEC website today and VOTE YES ON SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS 1 THROUGH 5. Voting ends on April 9, 2010 (noon Pacific Time).

Please forward this e-mail to your friends and family. Help protect MEC’s ethical sourcing policy from abuse by anti-Israel activists.

For more information on specific resolutions, please contact Dan Schloss, Pacific Region Manager, Advocacy, Canada-Israel Committee at 604-622-4242 or danschloss@cicweb.ca.

There seems to be no stopping the momentum BUYcott is gaining around the world.  In addition to the new BuyIsraeliProductsNow campaign we told you about last week, a new project is starting this week: BUYcott Month (www.buycottmonth.com), a month-long campaign for buying from, investing in and celebrating the state of Israel.

BUYcott Month is a little offbeat, but promises to be a lot of fun. Supporters of Israel from around the world are being asked to send in photos of themselves or friends buying and enjoying Israeli products, taking part in Israel-related cultural events, “breaking” a boycott, or doing anything that celebrates Israel or fights anti-Israel activity during the month of March. As part of this campaign, these photos should include people giving what’s called a “Finger-B” hand gesture to indicate their activity is part of the BUYcott Month project.

You can already see some of the fun submission that have already been made at the BUYcott Month home page, and the people behind the program are already cooking up some surprises, so you should visit the site often.

Most importantly, BUYcott activists should contribute to the BUYcott Month site as soon as you can so that we can get as many stories out as early in March as possible.  Instructions for submitting your photos/stories appears here: http://www.buycottmonth.com/send-us-your-story.html.

A  BUYcott Israel member in New York City alerted us to a new anti-Israel campaign:

Code Pink have decided to pressure Ricky’s, a small New York chain store into discontinuing Ahava products from Israel. Time for an equal and opposite reaction. New Yorkers – time to go to Ricky’s and stock up on Ahava products. Tell the manager how much you love them. Email them and tell them not to give in to special interest bullying.

Website: www.rickys-nyc.com

Address & Phone:

44 E. 8th St (btw. University Pl. and Broadway)
(212) 254-5247

590 Broadway (btw. Houston and Prince)
(212) 226-5552

718 Broadway (@ Washington Pl)
(212) 979-5232

988 8th Ave (@ 58th St)
(212) 957-8343

466 Ave of the Americas (btw. 11th & 12th)
(212) 924-3401

From Code Pink:

This Valentine’s Day, have a heart and join us sending a CODEPINK-style valentine to the president of Ricky’s NYC, a family-owned chain store here in New York City, to tell them ‘Stop carrying AHAVA cosmetics! AHAVA means love in Hebrew, but there is nothing loving about the company’s practices.’ Help put the pressure on Ricky’s to stop carrying the products and we can add it to the other successes from this campaign!

Please support Safeway supermarkets. Safeway stores in the United States have been targeted for anti-Israel action because they stock Sabra brand dips and spreads. Although Sabra is located in New York, it is majority owned by Strauss Group which is an Israeli company. If your community has a Safeway, please visit and purchase Sabra products. As well, please contact Safeway to express your support for purchasing products from Israel. You will find location and contact information on the Safeway website: http://www.safeway.ca