Boycott organized at MEC

SARA NEWHAM

Thousands of kilometres from the source of the hostilities, the upcoming annual general meeting of Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) will be another battleground in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

A proposed resolution – the source of which is unknown – calls on the store to halt its dealings with Israeli companies and discontinue using Israel-made products. It will be brought forward at the meeting next week.

"It will be discussed at the AGM and at some point it will come to a vote and the members who are in attendance will decide if it passes or not," said Tim Southam, spokesperson for MEC, about the resolution.

MEC has been sourcing products from Israel for several years. Portable hydration systems and seamless underwear are among the Israeli products the store sells, and thus, are the targets of the resolution. The company that manufacturers the hydration systems is a world leader in that technology and provides militaries, including Israel's, with products like hydration packs. The seamless underwear meanwhile is produced by Tefron, considered to be the leading seamless underwear manufacturer in the world.

"None of their manufacturing facilities are located within the occupied territories and, like every manufacturer or factory that we do business with to make MEC products, the companies have been evaluated under our ethical sourcing program," said Southam.

According to an unconfirmed version of the wording, the proponents of the resolution are demanding that the co-operative cease its relationship with these companies because, they claim, "Israel is currently defying more than 30 UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, and is in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law codified under the Geneva Conventions, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice in 2004." The proposed resolution also likens the situation in Israel to apartheid, quoting activists like Desmond Tutu, Arun Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter making comparisons between Israel and South Africa. Although at least one e-mail was sent from the address belonging to Jews for a Just Peace, the organization told the Independent that they did not write the resolution, but were simply passing the information along because they supported it.

Dr. Michael Elterman, chair of the Canada Israel Committee, Pacific Region, said boycotts like these – and those of Israeli wines – are the brainchild of the "famously anti-Semitic" Durban Conference.

"It is intended to isolate Israel and label the Jewish state as an illegitimate entity. A boycott is not about legitimate criticism. It is about undermining the existence of Israel," said Elterman. "Just as the discrimination against an individual Jew is anti-Semitism, discriminating against Israel as the 'Jew among the nations' is political anti-Semitism."

Elterman questioned why these groups do not boycott Chinese-made products for the human rights abuses that are known to take place in China.

Southam could not speculate on the potential success or failure of the proposed resolution. However, an ordinary resolution such as this requires a 50 per cent vote of the members present and serves to provide a direction for the board of directors to consider, he said. In other words, it is a non-binding resolution. The board may or may not act on it depending on other considerations that bear on the issue, he added.

"Our position is we take direction on these issues from the federal government and the United Nations in terms of trade sanctions so if either the UN or the government of Canada was to enact a trade sanction against Canada, then we would cease doing business with Israeli companies," said Southam.

"Our relationship is with the factories with which we do business. It's not with the Israeli government and [where] we focus our efforts is at a factory level through our ethical sourcing program. We do formal audits to ensure that workers are reasonably paid and that they're fairly treated and that the working conditions are safe."

He added that while MEC has heard from some members concerned about the co-operative's sourcing of Israeli products, a recent clearance of the seamless underwear produced in Israel sold quickly.

The outcome of the proposed resolution will come down to who is in the room at the AGM and how the discussion is carried out. Only those who were members of MEC 16 weeks prior to the meeting date may attend and/or vote during the AGM, so a last-minute membership buy-out by members of the Jewish community and other supporters of Israel is not possible. However, Elterman said, there is other action that can be taken.

"Many members of the Jewish and pro-Israel communities are members of Mountain Equipment Co-op and are supporters of their products. The pro-Israel community should make it known to the board of directors of MEC at their Vancouver head office that they strongly oppose a boycott by MEC of Israeli-sourced products," said Elterman, who previously organized a counter campaign against an Israeli wine boycott. "Members of the community who are MEC members can help by attending the AGM on April 30 and being vocal in opposing the resolution."

The 38th annual general meeting of MEC will be held on April 30, at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:15 p.m.) at the Simon Fraser University Segal School of Business, 500 Granville St. Members are reminded that they must bring their membership card and two pieces of identification.

If any Independent "readers are MEC members, they are welcome to attend the AGM and to take part in the discussions about the resolution, assuming there will be one brought forward, and to vote as they see fit, as they're entitled to do as a member," said Southam, adding that there are three million members. "If members feel that their position on the issue is better expressed by purchasing the products in question, more power to them."

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