In April of 2009, we became aware that anti-Israel groups in the Vancouver area were organizing a boycott Israel resolution for the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) annual meeting to be held in May. Because MEC is a co-op, members can have a direct voice in this type of organizational policy.
A delegation of Buycotters attended the MEC annual meeting and helped ensure that the boycott resolution was defeated. Find out more »
In April, 2009, the Toronto Jewish community became aware of a call by anti-Israel activists to boycott Israeli wines, just before Passover. The protestors intended to picket a local liquor outlet on the Sunday before the holiday.
In response, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto led the way in a Buycott drive to purchase as much Israeli wine as possible. E-mails were sent out to thousands and the pro-Israel community mobilized to counter the boycott, with their wallets and purses.
The result? Within half an hour, the liquor store at which the protestors called for a boycott was completely sold out of Israeli wine. One hundred and fifty cases were purchased in a matter of minutes, and the handful of protestors was outnumbered by well over 1,000 enthusiastic pro-Israel advocates.
A group of BUYcotters in Vancouver, led by the Canada-Israel Committee Pacific region, organized two BUYcotts that sold out local Israeli wines in 2008 and early 2009, despite the presence of picketers asking customers to boycott. There has not been an attempt to boycott Israeli wine in Vancouver since then. These actions were the genesis of the BUYcott initiative in Canada.
Following an international effort in late October 2009 that included the BUYcott initiative, the Susan Komen Foundation insisted that Egyptian authorities reverse their decision to bar Israeli researchers from a Komen-sponsored meeting in Alexandria, Egypt.
In October 2009, FIFA president Joseph Blatter received hundreds of letters asking him to continue to resist pressure to exclude the Israeli team from participation in World Cup soccer activities. Israel played the Swiss team to a tie in Basel, and the Swiss advanced to the next round.
