Well, surprise-surprise - one of these "fair trade" labels, provides scholarships to the An-Najah University. Where a shrine to suicide bombers is located. Where reenactments of suicidal bombings took place to show how proud they are of butchery of Jews:
A site of recruitment for suicide bombing.
A video of the "nice" exhibit at An-Najah from September 2001. Notice the "wipe your shoes on the American flag" part:
Schlussel Reports: Whole Foods "Responds" to Schlussel Story on Funding Palestinian Terrorist U, Stands by Terror U Scholarship Products
I'm starting from the end, and quoting their response to the accusations and Debbie Schlussel's comments inside the response:
From: Jessie Walker (CE CEN) Jessie.Walker@wholefoods.com
Subject: in response to your concerns.
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 3:08 PM
I have shared your concerns with our National purchasing team as I promised. Our National Grocery Team chose to launch items made by this coop, such as Alter Eco, Dr Bronners, and Canaan Fair Trade brand, because of the high ethical standards with which they are produced. Fair trade items are a win-win partnership and this particular line of oils is produced by a co-op of Palestinians in the West Bank who are committed to peaceful coexistence with Israel. [DS: NOT AT AN-NAJAH UNIVERSITY, WHERE CANAAN FAIR TRADE FUNDS SCHOLARSHIPS] Here are the main points to rebuke the article you mention. [DS: THIS IS NOT A REBUKE. IT'S REGURGITATION OF BS.]
1. Canaan is fully invested in fair trade and organic production as means to support livelihood and environmental sustainability. In Palestine in particular fair-trade has created much needed hope in the farmers communities and provided them with a medium for positive interaction and connection with Western societies in Europe and North America. [DS: SO? THIS "REBUKES" THAT CANAAN FAIR TRADE FUNDS SCHOLARSHIPS TO TERRORIST UNIVERSITIES, HOW?]
2. Canaan Fair Trade olive oil is certified fair trade by two of the most reputable fair-trade certification bodies IMO and FLO, independent third parties, in Switzerland and Germany. Certification involves yearly inspections and audits including the money trail. These two certifiers verify that the payments reach the farmers cooperatives and the individual farmers, and the social premiums support valuable community projects. [DS: I REPEAT, SO? THIS "REBUKES" THAT CANAAN FAIR TRADE FUNDS SCHOLARSHIPS TO TERRORIST UNIVERSITIES, HOW?]
3. Every product leaving Palestine, including Canaan Fair Trade products, is exported through Israeli ports and cleared by Israeli customs authorities. Getting the product out to markets abroad requires cooperation between Palestinian and Israeli businesses. [DS: SO WHAT? THEY DON'T EXPORT THE SCHOLARSHIPS TO TERRORISM UNIVERSITY A/K/A AN-NAJAH THROUGH ISRAEL, DO THEY? WE DIDN'T SAY THERE WERE BOMBS INSIDE THE CANAAN PRODUCTS, JUST THAT THE PRODUCTS FUND THE BREEDING OF TERRORISTS AT COLLEGES. WHICH ISRAELI BUSINESSES? PLEASE NAME THEM. OF COURSE, THERE AREN'T ANY, AS CANAAN FREE TRADE DOESN'T WORK WITH THE ISRAELIS. THIS IS SIMPLY A LIE.]
4. The US Department of State is encouraging the local Palestinian economy as a catalyst for peace in the region. A State Department delegation visited Canaan headquarters in Jenin, West bank, March 2009. Sean Fitzgerald, delegation head, said "We were really impressed with (Canaan's) establishment, but more so with the fair trade principles (they) promote and the community service (they) give." He asked if Canaan Fair Trade would serve as a model for other Palestinian companies to reach the US market. [DS: AH, SO THE STATE DEPARTMENT IS HELPING IN THIS EFFORT TO FUND SCHOLARSHIPS TO TERRORIST UNIVERSITIES. THAT MAKES IT SO MUCH BETTER TO KNOW THAT OUR TAX DOLLARS BACK IT UP (WHICH I ALREADY KNEW AND NOTED IN MY ORIGINAL ARTICLE--TELL ME SOMETHING I DIDN'T KNOW).]
5. Many US [DS: FAR-LEFT] Christian and [DS: SELF-HATING, FAR LEFT] Jewish groups work with Canaan and support Canaan's producer communities. These include Catholic Relief Services, the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, the Quakers, and Jewish Voice for Peace [DS: ALL OPEN SUPPORTERS OF HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH, AND DIVESTMENT FROM ISRAEL], to name a few.
Please let me know if you have any further questions. [DS: WHY BOTHER, SINCE HE DIDN'T ADDRESS OR ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS I RAISED? HERE'S A FURTHER QUESTION: HOW MUCH OF A LOSS IN SALES FROM AMERICANS AGAINST TERRORISM CAN WHOLE FOODS SUSTAIN BEFORE FAILING?]
Kind regards,
Jessie Walker|Customer Information Specialist
Whole Foods Market|Global Head Quarters
Phone 512-542-0670|Fax 512-482-7670
...
DS: Go to Organic Tofu Hell, Whole Foods.
Nice, organic tofu hell...
Dr. Bronner's Responds with the Facts..
ReplyDeleteApril 26, 2009
To Whom It May Concern: Re: Dr. Bronner’s Response to Criticism of Fair Trade Organic Olive Oil from Palestine
Dr. Bronner’s uses over 150 metric tons per year of organic olive oil for the velvety smoothness it contributes to our soaps. In early 2007, Dr. Bronner’s began sourcing 90% of our olive oil needs from Palestinian producers near the West Bank town of Jenin. There, the trading firm Canaan Fair Trade was founded by Palestinians who support peaceful co-existence with Israel and see profitable olive farming as one means of improving Palestinians’ economic situation.
Canaan works closely with the Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA), and now purchases oil from 1,700 smallholders organized in the PFTA. Dr. Bronner’s funding of the organic and Fair Trade certification by IMO boosted the project’s visibility and provided access to high-end markets in Europe and the U.S. We are also advancing funds far ahead of purchases, which helps Canaan and the PFTA to further develop processing and storage infrastructure.
Because Palestinian olive oil competes with subsidized olive oil from EU countries, oil production in the past has not been lucrative for smallholders and the local economy. But now, PFTA growers are guaranteed a minimum price to cover costs of production and receive a combined organic and Fair Trade premium of 25%. Canaan donates additional funds for education, tree planting and logistics projects. Beyond our trade relationship, Dr. Bronner’s supports Canaan with logistics and distribution contacts and provides technical support as well.
Our cooperation with Canaan allows Palestinian growers to trade directly with growing high-value markets for organic and Fair Trade materials while redeveloping their traditional livelihoods.
The balance of our olive oil comes from Israel. Sindyanna, a Fair Trade business run by Jewish and Arab women in Israel, supports Arab-Israeli producers. And in light of the vision of peace that the olive branch symbolizes, we are also sourcing olive oil from the Jewish Israeli Strauss family farm in Israel, a pioneer in organic olive oil production. Michael Strauss, former elite Israeli Defense Force scout, is a big supporter of our mixing Palestinian and Israeli olive oil in our soaps, as can be seen in this video: http://www.drbronner.com/olive_oil_from_the_holyland.html
An excellent article and overview of these projects and efforts appeared in Haaretz’s Israeli news magazine Colbo: http://www.drbronner.com/pdf/drbronnerpress_colbo_article.pdf
Recently, we have become aware of attacks on Canaan Fair Trade in the US. The basis appears to simply be that the source is Palestinian, which the attackers conflate with terrorism against Israel. This is similar to calls to boycott Israeli businesses, conflating them with settlers taking Palestinian land. In neither case generally is there any direct connection. In particular, Canaan Fair Trade is an example of what fair trade is about: disadvantaged farmers facing the obstacles and difficulties of reaching markets in the midst of a conflict situation, are being organized on fair-trade terms that help them and their families negotiate these obstacles and connect with markets in the west. The fair trade premium is invested back into the communities that produce the olive oil, for community development projects, educational scholarships and improving production efficiencies.
In regards to scholarships to universities in the West Bank, we abhor any and all glorifications of terrorism that have or will occur on these diverse campuses, but that should not distract from the importance and value of a college education for disadvantaged Palestinians. Even taking a narrow Israeli security view, it is in Israel’s interest that Palestinians have gainful employment and access to markets, as economic desperation and lack of economic opportunity contributes to the radicalization of Palestinian youth.
Israel itself imports all kinds of Palestinian agricultural produce for domestic consumption, and is a primary export market for Palestinian olive oil. Our olive oil from Canaan is exported to Israel for refining, which Dr. Bronner’s Israeli distributor helps coordinate as well as the shipping.
The Israeli government would hardly permit this if it believed that the olive oil was funding terrorism.
We the fourth and fifth generation family at Dr. Bronner’s are proud of our Jewish heritage and are strong supporters of Israel’s right to exist and security, and contribute annually to Magen David Adom, the Israeli Red Cross. Nazis murdered Dr. Bronner’s parents and much of his extended family, and stole the family soap business.
Dr. Bronner’s sister Lotte emigrated to Israel in 1936 to the Ein Gev kibbutz, and we have family throughout Israel that we visit frequently. Lotte died last month and we celebrated her passing with a memorial page and short video interview she gave discussing amongst other things her childhood and mixing Israeli and Palestinian oil in our soaps: http://www.drbronner.com/dr_bronners_lotte.html Our Timeline has more details of our history: http://www.drbronner.com/timeline.html Dr. Bronner’s launched our soaps in Israel last year with presentations by ourselves and Nasser Abufarha, Executive Director of Canaan Fair Trade, which the Israeli press covered positively: http://www.drbronner.com/drb_press_the_mkt.html Just as we are comfortable saying that Lotte emigrated to “Israel” in 1936 even though technically it was still “Palestine”, we respect the national aspirations of the Palestinian people in saying that our Palestinian olive oil comes from “Palestine”.
We are optimistic that we can rise above religious and sectarian differences and realize our transcendent unity: that we are All-One based on mutual respect and recognition of each others’ rights and history.
Sincerely,
David Bronner
President Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
Please read my response at:
ReplyDeletehttp://shawarmamayor.blogspot.com/2009/04/someone-sent-response-to-whole.html
yeahhhh
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