Take action
Email supermarkets to stop selling dates from apartheid Israel
Simon Roberts
Sainsbury's
Ken Murphy
Tesco
Allan Leighton
Asda
Rami Baitiéh
Morrisons
Tom Denyard
Waitrose
Giles Hurley
Aldi
Ryan McDonnell
Lidl
Stuart Machin
Marks & Spencer
Tarsem Dhaliwal
Iceland Foods
Thank you for contacting about this important issue.
Please share this campaign with your friends and family.
Order Check The Label leaflets, posters and stickers to distribute for our next campaign days:
Friday 13 February: Distribute outside your mosque after jummah
Saturday 14 February: Distribute amongst your community and put up posters in your local high street
Ask your Masjid to dedicate their Friday 6 February khutba on #CheckTheLabel, download the prewritten khutba and send it to them.
Help spread awareness amongst your friends and followers to boycott Israeli dates by uploading these images.
Ask your Masjid to dedicate their Friday 6 February khutba on #CheckTheLabel, download the prewritten khutba and send it to them.
Help spread awareness amongst your friends and followers to boycott Israeli dates by uploading these images.
Please select resource type below
Here are frequently asked questions on #CheckTheLabel - dates
Next time you buy dates to break your fast, check the label on the back of the product or in the product description if you’re purchasing online. If the dates are from Israel, the West Bank or the Jordan Valley then do not buy them.
This small but strong action can go a long way towards holding Israel accountable for its illegal occupation and apartheid in Palestine.
Boycotting Israeli dates is a powerful and peaceful way to stand up for Palestinian rights.
Boycotting is all about using your personal choice not to use or buy something from a company involved in Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.
Ordinary people like us can make a huge difference. Boycotting Israeli dates reduces Israel’s income as companies will stop trading with Israel.
This Ramadan we’re sending a clear message that we will not stand by and do nothing in the face of Israeli injustice and oppression against Palestinians.
Checking the label is already making a difference! Israel is spending millions of pounds countering boycotts like this, as it knows the boycott focuses on its grave violations of international law and oppression of Palestinians.
Definitely not. You should #CheckTheLabel all year round. Avoid seasonal fruit and vegetables from Israel including strawberries, citrus fruits, peppers, figs and avocados.
You should also #CheckTheLabel of manufactured products including cosmetics, carbonation devices, plastics, textile products and toys.
Unfortunately, yes. Research by Human Rights Watch shows that Palestinian children are heavily involved in picking, cleaning and packing these dates.
Children as young as 11 years old describe vomiting, dizziness and skin rashes after spraying pesticides with inadequate protection, as well as body pain or numbness after carrying heavy pesticide containers on their backs.
These children should be at school receiving an education, but Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid forces them to work in these inhumane conditions instead.
Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid forces many Palestinians to work in degrading conditions on Israeli settlement farms.
Palestinian women describe working 15-hour days in the unbearable heat of the Jordan Valley, picking and packing produce such as dates.
Yes. Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid makes life very difficult for Palestinian date farmers.
Right now Palestinian date farmers need our support more than ever. By boycotting Israeli dates and buying dates from Palestinian brands instead, you can be sure your money is going directly to Palestinians date farmers who need it most.
Story so far.
With Ramadan 2026 approaches, we have re-launched our Check The Label - boycott Israeli dates campaign. This campaign is to remind Muslims ahead of Ramadan, when we go shopping for dates, to check the label so we do not break our fasts with Israeli dates.
We launched Check the Label boycott campaign over 15 years ago to tackle the widespread presence of Israeli medjool dates that flooded our markets for consumers to purchase to break their fasts with during Ramadan. Over the years we have successfully mobilised our community with a simple yet powerful call to action for Palestine: Check the Label.
This campaign is spearheaded by the community. Teams and individuals across the UK gained attention to the campaign with creative street actions and stunts outside supermarkets, spread public awareness with high street leaflet distributions, engaged with shop owners to encourage them to stop selling Israeli dates, as well as mosque tours and Jummah distributions. Mosques have actively encouraged their congregations to boycott Israeli dates with their dedicated khutbahs. We have bought people together with our Ramadan events and iftars highlighting the oppression of Palestinians and the importance to Check the Label.
Through various incredible community efforts over the years, more people have joined our call to boycott Israeli dates as a stand against Israel’s apartheid of Palestinians and to hold Israel accountable for its brutal genocide.
Due to the collective efforts of the community and the success of the Check the Label campaign, Israeli companies are now having to change their tactics. Israel is mixing a few Palestinian dates with their Israeli dates and sending them to the UK as produce of Palestine. To avoid buying mixed dates, which are sold to us as produce of Palestine, FOA can recommend three brands Yaffa, Rift valley and Zaytoun. We encourage everyone to do their own research before buying other companies that say ‘produce of Palestine’.
There are also dates in the market that say ‘packed in Palestine’, that is deliberately misleading as it is not the same as produce of Palestine. There has also been an increase of dates, where the origin is missing on the packaging.
So, remember, this Ramadan, Check The Label and do not buy if the product says:
1) From Israel, West Bank or Jordan Valley
2) There is no country of origin clearly shown
3) ‘Packaged in Palestine’ or ‘Packed in Palestine’
4) If buying Palestinian dates, there are three we recommend – or do your own research
Israel is the world’s largest producer of Medjoul dates. Major UK supermarkets like ASDA, Tesco, Iceland and Waitrose all sell dates from apartheid Israel as well as local grocery store. The UK is the second-biggest importer of Israeli dates in Europe
Ramadan is one of the two peaks of date consumption in Europe. Lets show our disgust and dissaproval of genocidal Israel by making a real dent in Israeli date sales.
Boycotting Israeli dates in Ramadan is a concerted community effort that can show our power. It would be brilliant to see all Israeli dates still left on shelves across the UK and Europe at the end of the blessed month. This would reflect our strength as a community to stand together with a very important message: We will not support the oppression and genocide of Palestinians, and we will not be complicit in Israeli apartheid.
Ask your Masjid to dedicate their Friday 20 February khutba on #CheckTheLabel, download the prewritten khutba and send it to them. Khutba available here: foa.org.uk/ctldateskhutba
Israeli Brands to Boycott & Recommended Palestinian Brands
Check the label of the date packaging for Israel, West Bank , Jordan Valley or if the country of origin is not shown, or if the product says ‘Packed in Palestine’. Please also see below for Israeli date brands to boycott (usually sold in halal grocers) and brands we recommend you buy. Please do your own research if purchasing other produce of Palestine dates.
Campaign gallery
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