The Islamic Council of Norway calls for a date boycott – NRK Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

The fasting month of Ramadan is well under way, and many Norwegian Muslims like to open the fast with something very special.

Namely a date.

– Breaking the fast with dates is a prophetic tradition, says project manager of the Islamic Council of Norway, Mohammed Isak Abdullahi to NRK.

The Islamic Council of Norway (IRN) is a Muslim umbrella and interest organisation. According to the organization itself, they represent over 72 religious communities with a total of 65,000 members.

Now IRN fears that many Norwegian Muslims are breaking their fast with Israeli dates from settlements in the West Bank.

“Packed in, imported by…”

In many Muslim countries, political and religious leaders have advocated a boycott of goods produced by Israel.

At the same time, Muslims in the West and Muslim countries are important markets for Israeli date producers.

NRK has found dates in Norwegian import shops from the Israeli brand Medjool Plus, where it is not stated on the packaging that the dates are produced in Israel.

What the packaging clearly shows, however, is which country the goods are packed in, or where the importing company is based, preferably a European country.

In another case, it is clearly mentioned on the packaging that the dates are packed in Denmark, but it says nothing that the dates are grown in Israel.

Abdullahi believes that this is a deliberate strategy by the Israeli companies to avoid boycott and negative attention.

– They are aware that dates are important to Muslims, and that clear information about the product’s origin can lead to customers avoiding buying them, believes Abdullahi.

NRK has not succeeded in getting a response from Medjool Plus.

Earns most from date exports

Figures from the World Bank for 2022 show that Israel is the country in the world that earns the most from the export of dates.

In the same year, Israeli companies exported dates worth more than NOK 3.5 billion.

The Islamic Council of Norway calls for a general boycott of Israeli dates, as they believe that it cannot be ruled out that these may come from Israeli settlements.

– It is not so easy to distinguish between what comes from Israeli settlements and what comes from Israel. On that basis, we think that products from Israel should be boycotted in any case, says the project manager for the Islamic Council of Norway.

Abdullahi says that he experiences that Norwegian Muslims are keen not to buy dates from Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

– Boycott is an effective and peaceful means of ending the long-term illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, says Abdullahi.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority: Requirements for labeling household goods

Just a few days before Ramadan started this year, the Norwegian authorities advised against trade and business activities with Israeli settlements.

As early as 2022, the government decided that goods produced in illegal settlements in the West Bank and the Golan Heights should be clearly marked with the place of origin.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority tells NRK that foodstuffs originating in areas occupied by Israel must be marked with which area the product comes from and that they come from an Israeli settlement should this be the case.

– It is so that consumers will not be misled, he says Lindis Folkvord, who is head of the section for biological food safety in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.

She says that it is the importers’ responsibility to ensure that the requirements regarding origin are met and are correct.

– We encourage you to notify the Norwegian Food Safety Authority if you suspect that these requirements are not being followed.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority sets several requirements for what must be written on the packaging of a product. This applies, among other things, to the name/business name and address of the operator who sells the food.

It is voluntary for most foodstuffs to label the product with origin.

However, if the lack of information on origin can mislead the consumer, it is still mandatory.