Killer Carrots

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I needed a few basic groceries and I decided to try out my local megamarket’s online shopping and delivery. Signed up, chose what I wanted, and placed my order. The order came and was missing several items. They did not deliver any of the cold items I had ordered. No lettuce, no broccoli, no cheese and no carrots.

I took a closer look than usual at the receipt to identify exactly what was not delivered and was surprised to see listed, “Carrots 1lb Israel.“ Damnit. I had ordered genocide carrots.

I went back to the website to investigate. Nowhere in the description of the carrots on the site does it mention the country of origin. If I zoom into the pixilated image of the back of the package, there it is. “Product of Israel”

 
The back of a plastic carrot bag listing Nutrition facts and additional detains including the text "Product of Israel"
 

These particular carrots are a product of Dorot Farm.

According to the Dorot Farm website.

Dorot Farm is a third-generation family owned produce company. It is the #1 Carrot Growers Group, growing and selling fresh & sweet carrots directly from their farms to food service companies, retailers, wholesalers, processors, and fresh & cut companies, all around the world.

Dorot Farm carrots are enjoyed in areas ranging from North America, to Europe, to Africa, to The United Emirates.


The Dorot Farm website also describes its history, “Kibbutz Dorot was established in 1941 and has been growing a variety of fruits and vegetables there ever since … As the years went on, the farm expanded and thrived.”

Before there was Kibbutz Dorot, which lies just to the east of Sdorot, there was the village of Huj. Huj was established by the Ottoman governor of Gaza between 1818 and 1820. Various descriptions of Huj up through the 1880s describe it as a small village of adobe dwellings comprising about 300 inhabitants who were primarily farmers and breadmakers. Following the British victory over the Ottomans and the establishment of the British Mandate in Palestine, Huj expanded to the west and east and the residents farmed crops including grains, apricots, figs, grapes and almonds. A 1922 census put the population at 618 inhabitants, all Muslims. By 1945 inhabitants of the new Kibbutz Dorot were included in a count of the population of Huj and the numbers included 810 Muslims and 230 Jews.

The residents of Huj were friendly with the Jewish immigrants, even providing sanctuary to the Zionist paramilitary Haganah during a crackdown by the British Army in 1946. But, after the UN Partition plan in 1947, the Negev Brigade expelled the Huj from their land, looted and blew up their houses and displaced the remaining inhabitants to the Gaza Strip in 1948. It is estimated that over 6000 Gazans are descendants of refugees from Huj. After the depopulation and destruction of Huj in the Nakba, Dorot expanded onto its land.

A 1 pound bag of Dorot Farms Carrots

These carrots have a history.

They support the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement to win freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people. Among their targeted boycotts of specific companies operating in Israel, they call for a boycott of Israeli Fruits and Vegetables.

Fruits, vegetables and wines from Israel are often wrongly labelled as “Produce in Israel” when they come from stolen Palestinian land. Boycott all produce from Israel in your supermarket and demand they are removed from shelves.

Every action we take to support the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation is important, whether it take place in the streets, online, in government offices, on college campuses, or in the aisles of your local supermarket. Wherever you are, find ways you can make a difference.