BDSers also want to boycott Palestinian Arab products!

The latest monthly COGAT report shows that not only does Gaza export strawberries and carnations, but also bell peppers:

In January 163.282 tons of strawberries, 2,693,430 carnations and 5.05 tons of bell peppers were exported.

Since the beginning of the season (28 November 2010) 315.27 tons of strawberries, 3,064,638 carnations and 6 tons of bell peppers were exported to European markets.

So the question is, is anyone calling for a boycott of Gaza flowers, strawberries and peppers?

Why, yes! The same BDS groups who want to boycott Israel also want to include Gaza - and the West Bank!

Palestinian Arab produce gets exported to Europe through Israel's Agrexco. And the BDSers call to boycott Agrexco.

Here's what they say about Gaza:

Under the severe conditions of Israel's illegal blockade which have brought Gaza imports and exports to a near halt, Agrexco has exploited its close relationship with the Israeli occupation authorities in order to secure a monopoly-like status in the export of Palestinian produce from Gaza, whenever a trickle of Palestinian products is granted to pass the blockade, often for Israeli public relations purposes. In the previous season, for instance, only a few tons of strawberries were allowed out of Gaza. While this season may see a larger quota of exports, the total number of Palestinian farmers involved is less than one thousand. Experts also predict that many of those can switch to producing items that are needed in the local Gaza market, if denied gateways to export strawberries and flowers. All claims that Agrexco operations benefit Palestinian farmers are no more than a fig leaf to cover up its complicity in Israel's violations of international law and the rights of the Palestinian people.... Instead, we call for intensifying pressure against Agrexco through a systematic and full boycott of all of Agrexco’s products and services.

Produce from the West Bank as well as Gaza are marketed by Agrexco under the brand name "Coral." They need to use Agrexco in order to pass all the certifications needed to get into the European market.

Here's one of the people that BDSers are telling to go to hell:

Um Hajjar Al-Ghalayini, 46 years old, owns half an acre of sandy Gaza land that produces two tons of strawberries every season. Since her husband died two years ago, the crop is the sole means of support for her nine children, mother-in-law and widowed sister, so every one of the bright red berries counts.

Last year, she had no choice but to sell her produce to the local market. That filled the Gaza markets with fruits and vegetables to the benefit of consumers, but for growers like Um Hajjar it was a disaster. Her earnings dropped by more than half and the family had a tough year economically. This week, as Israel took another step in easing its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, Um Hajjar delivered her strawberries to the Kerem Shalom checkpoint on the Israel-Gaza border, their first leg of a journey to the more profitable markets in Europe.

“Now I can say that things are getting back to normal, if not on the right track,” she told The Media Line.

So the BDSers don't give a damn about Palestinian Arab farmers in Gaza or the West Bank!

The next time someone tells you that people who boycott Israel are motivated because they love Palestinian Arabs so much, ask them if they support the boycott of Agrexco's Coral brand as well.