Last week the Times of Israel quoted the Dutch newspaper Trouw as saying that Dutch supermarkets Aldi and Hoogvliet were boycotting any Israeli products that originated in the settlements. BDSers celebrated the news.
Only one problem: Trouw was not being accurate.
A Dutch food distribution news site quotes Hoogvliet officials as being irritated by the Trouw story. Apparently, the reporter asked them if they currently sell any products from the settlements, and they answered they are not. Trouw took this answer and called it a "boycott" - but it isn't. It just means that there are not any settlement products being sold currently; it is not a policy.
Similarly, Aldi said that they are not selling any settlement products, but this is not a result of any company policy. They said the only criteria they use when deciding what products to sell are "quality, price and availability."
A third chain, Jumbo, also denied reports of a boycott of settlement goods. They did admit that they performed an inventory of where products are sourced from to be ready in case the Dutch government would request a boycott, but they did not sell any.
In this case, it wasn't the BDSers actively lying - it was a newspaper reporter.
(h/t O)
