This Ramadan, Egyptians are calling for a boycott of Israeli-linked dates

Dried dates, a traditional staple of breakfast tables during the Islamic month of Ramadan, have unexpectedly become a potent symbol of political protest and solidarity in Egypt.

As this predominantly Muslim nation gears up for the holy month, set to begin in mid-February, its social media platforms and online forums are buzzing with calls to boycott specific brands of dates accused of originating from Israel.

Names and lists of suspect products are being widely shared, with users urging others to avoid them as a direct way to oppose Israeli policies, particularly amid current regional tensions, including the situation in the Gaza Strip.

"Israeli dates have arrived in supermarkets around our country," Mamdouh Hamza, the head of a major engineering firm and a political activist, wrote on Facebook on January 28.

"We need to show commitment to boycotting those brands and ask grocers to remove them from their stores' shelves," he added.

Another man shared a video on X and captioned it thus: "Important alert... Israeli dates under various names. Full boycott required".

These messages are spreading rapidly across social media platforms and online forums, fuelling a widespread backlash against the new unwelcome arrival now appearing in supermarkets nationwide.

This surge comes precisely as those same supermarkets are prominently displaying a wide array of dried nuts, fruits, and other Ramadan essentials, anticipating the holy month.

The new campaign is part of a larger pattern of boycott activism in Egypt, one that was fuelled by the Israeli war on Gaza launched in October 2023.

The campaign saw social media users aggressively target anything perceived as linked to Israel. This time, the online backlash is energised by Ramadan preparations and solidarity with Palestine.

It comes as Egyptians stockpile massive quantities of food, including dates and other traditional items, in preparation for a month traditionally associated with abundant feasting and consumption, even though it is meant to be a time of spiritual reflection, during which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.

Deep irony

The new grassroots movement highlights a deeper irony: despite persistent political frictions and geostrategic strains between Egypt and Israel, bilateral trade, including agricultural goods such as dates, has quietly grown recently.

Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. However, almost four and a half decades later, their relations remain frosty, especially at the public level.

At the political and diplomatic levels, Cairo and Tel Aviv are locked in conflicts over the future of Gaza as well as a wide range of other regional issues, including Israel's regional moves in the Horn of Africa.

Egypt did not welcome Israel's most recent recognition of the Somali breakaway region of Somaliland, viewing the move as an Israeli attempt to encircle it.

Nonetheless, these conflicts appear to have had little impact on bilateral trade, which has trended upward over the past few years.

In June 2024, trade between the two countries reached $35 million, up 29% from the corresponding month in 2023, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.

In the first six months of 2024, trade between the two countries reached $246.6 million, 53% higher than the corresponding period in 2023, the bureau said.

A recent $35 billion dollar gas deal between the two countries has become a flagship of their economic cooperation, highlighting their economic interdependence, despite their political differences.

Nevertheless, this interdependence is coming at the centre of criticism among some Egyptian activists who view it as doing nothing but support the Israeli economy in complete disregard of Israel's negative regional policies and the crimes it commits against the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Kamal Abu Eita, Egypt's former minister of manpower, has strongly cautioned against deepening economic ties with Israel, describing such cooperation as fraught with significant risks.

He specifically warned that increasing reliance on Israel, particularly amid current political tensions with Tel Aviv, poses grave dangers to Egypt's interests and autonomy.

"Expanding trade relations stands in direct contradiction to Israel's actions and crimes against Arabs across the region," he told The New Arab.

He expressed deep regret that revenues generated from this trade ultimately help fund Israel's military, enabling the purchase of weapons used by its army to kill Palestinians.

Rising anger

Current calls for boycotting the Israeli dates buck this official drive of doing business with the self-proclaimed Jewish state.

Some people view the surge in this boycott sentiment over the Israeli dates as turning a simple Ramadan tradition into a platform for expressing dissent and demanding accountability.

By scrutinising labels and choosing alternatives, many Egyptians are transforming their breakfast meals into acts of solidarity, proving that even everyday consumer choices can carry powerful political weight in times of heightened awareness and outrage, the people participating in the campaign say.

Ziayd Bassiouni, a member of the Egyptian chapter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, said boycotting Israeli dates, other Israeli products, and goods from companies that support Israel serves primarily as a powerful political statement.

"The boycott is a clear expression of widespread public outrage over Israel's actions and policies in the region," he told TNA. "This non-violent form of protest aims to send a strong message of solidarity with Palestinians and rejection of practices seen as contributing to occupation and injustice."

Israel's war on Gaza engendered numerous boycott campaigns by Egyptians against products from companies perceived as supportive of Israel.

These campaigns have been only partially effective at the local level, resulting in notable short-term sales declines and operational challenges for targeted franchises in Egypt.

The same boycotts have also boosted local Egyptian brands, even as they have raised concerns about potential job losses and economic harm to Egypt's workforce and investors.

Probably feeling the heat from snowballing criticism over Israeli dates in the market, the Egyptian government countered by refuting reports about their presence.

In a January 30 statement, it quoted the Ministry of Agriculture as saying that Israel is not an approved country of origin for importing palm products, including dates.

"Egypt only imports limited quantities of fresh dates from approved sources (for varieties not widely grown locally), and dried/semi-dried dates, mainly for industrial needs, during off-seasons, none from Israel," the government said in the statement.

Egypt is the world's top date producer, producing over 2 million tonnes annually, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

This Arab country also has 24 million palm trees, the ministry said.

However, in warning on Facebook about the presence of Israeli dates in the market, Hamza, the owner of an engineering firm and political activist, claimed he had verified the information and that the brands he mentioned in the post were indeed in the market.

Bassiouni, the BDS member, warned that Israeli dates, and potentially other products, may be entering the local market indirectly through non-Israeli companies.

These intermediaries, he suggested, could be mislabelling or fabricating the country of origin to obscure their trustworthy source.

"Under all circumstances, we must boycott everything originating from Israel," Bassiouni stated firmly.

He described this boycott as the very least that could be done in solidarity with and support for the Palestinians, emphasising that a boycott is a meaningful act of resistance against occupation and injustice.