I am running for the board of Mountain Equipment Co-op. A member of MEC for 30 years, my initial interest was to promote self-propelled outdoor activities for Canadians. I was also driven to oppose the initiative undertaken at last year’s annual general meeting to boycott Israeli goods. These forces are still at work with a demonstration several months ago at the MEC store in Toronto and planned anti-Israel demonstrations planned this March 27th at MEC outlets in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.

Last year this boycott proposal was turned down. I believe that it will reappear this year and I want to be on the board to ensure that MEC does not adopt this measure as policy. I would be very pleased if you could distribute my message. Thank you for your support.

Ron Factor

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.