A campaign has been trending on Twitter urging Muslim consumers to check the label of dates that they buy for Ramadan in order to ensure that these dates do not come from Occupied Palestine (Israel). This campaign is in its sixth year and is currently run all over the United Kingdom.

The project aims to make people aware of the labelling when purchasing dates for the coming month of Ramadan. People usually check the label to see if a product is indeed halal. This goes further where people should not purchase goods that are grown within Occupied Palestine (Israel).

This campaign was launched by Friends of Al Aqsa, a UK based non-profit organisation, concerned with defending the human rights of Palestinians and protecting the sacred al-Aqsa Sanctuary in Jerusalem.

Consumers within South Africa should also be mindful of the fact that stores in South Africa import and sell products which are grown on Israeli settlements. These settlements form part of the land that was forcefully taken away from Palestinian citizens.

Citizens have joined the campaign by tweeting pictures of themselves holding up a flyer saying that ‘I have #checkedthelabel, have you’.

There are other options of dates available. Other countries that export dates are Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Iran to mention a few. If consumers prefer medjoul dates then they are able to order Palestinian dates from Yaffa.

Most food shops in the UK will stock dates produced in Israel, West Bank and the Jordan Valley. Dates produced in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley are highly likely to be from Illegal Israeli Settlements and should be boycotted.

Israel is said to export millions of pounds worth of dates to the world and especially during Ramadan the South African public should be aware of the country from which their dates are imported.

The campaign has grown significantly over the past few years in the UK and has received support from various Muslim organisations in Europe

So far the Friends of Al Aqsa movement has over 13,000 Twitter followers and the number of followers is ever increasing.

For more information on the I#CheckTheLabel campaign visit their website http://foa.org.uk/campaigns/check-the-label. VOC (Umarah Hartley)