Sunday, January 19, 2014
Elder of Ziyon |
| The highly offensive potatoes |
Kuwait’s commerce ministry has launched an investigation into reports that Israeli potatoes were being sold in cooperative societies.The story is all over Kuwait media even though it apparently started on Twitter.
“The ministry is currently coordinating with several parties to reach a conclusion about the allegations and ensure that they are not malicious,” ministry sources told local daily Al Kuwaitiya.
“The ministry has a zero-tolerance policy towards the import and sale of Israeli products and if there are Israeli potatoes in the stores, there will be stringent action against those involved,” the sources said.
Khalid Al Subai, the deputy head of the Consumer Protection Society, was quoted by the Kuwaiti daily as saying that Israeli potatoes had been sold in several cooperative societies and that he held the commerce and industry ministry and the country’s customs responsible.
“The product has been spotted in several places and I would like to know how those in charge of monitoring the import of foreign products allowed it into the country,” he said.
However, Abdul Aziz Al Samhan, the head of the Cooperative Societies Union, has denied the existence of any Israeli products in Kuwait’s cooperatives. “This is definitely a red line that no one is allowed to cross under any name,” he said in a statement.
“We do deplore the allegations by some people and the accusations they levelled at Al Nassem Cooperative claiming that it was selling potatoes in bags with an Israeli label,” he said.
The Customs have denied the claims about the sale of Israeli products in Kuwait and insisted that the potatoes being sold in cooperatives were from Jordan, he added.
Al Samhan called for an end to the “electoral manoeuvres” and “the fabrication of unsubstantiated accusations, slander and falsehoods.”
“We in the Union do know that putting a false label on the product bags is an indication of bankruptcy or a way of having fun at the expense of others. Such acts have unfortunately sparked an online debate and raised questions about the authenticity of the news,” he said.
For Al Samhan, placing an Israeli label on the product does not make sense at all.
“Will selling Israeli products increase sales? We will not tolerate this fabrication and there will be serious questioning. We will find out who is behind this attack on Al Naseem Cooperative, especially that we know that it has a clean record,” he said.
Sale of Israeli goods is a violation of Law 21 of 1964. There is an entire office in Kuwait dedicated to the boycott. One newspaper said "there are tight customs procedures to prevent Jewish products from leaking to the market."
The Jeleeb website comments, "This is a calamity if it is true."
A calamity!
If you want to stop any Arab economy dead in its tracks, all you need is an inkjet printer and a blank white label sheet.The Arabs will do the rest themselves.
(h/t Bob Knot)
