Activists urge Irish to boycott Israeli goods

ACTIVISTS gathered in Dublin yesterday imploring Irish people to turn their backs on Israeli goods and events in protest at events in the Middle East.

Ahead of a planned mass rally in Dublin this weekend over the bombardment of Lebanon by Israel, protestors said ordinary people could boycott goods and services sending out a strong a message.

Anti-war campaigner Richard Boyd Barrett argued: “We hope thousands will come out and show their protest.

“We are calling on people to boycott Israeli items in shops, like fresh fruit or herbs or wine. Many don’t know that in the ordinary supermarket they sell their items.”

The Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s Raymond Deane added: “Unions should refuse to handle Israeli goods.”

Tomorrow’s march comes after two weeks of incursions and the shelling of Beirut and further south in Lebanon since the kidnapping of Israeli troops by militants Hezbollah.

A myriad of nationalities at yesterday’s conference warned of stability breaking down in the region.

Iranian exile Shaho Zamani, who has spent two years in Ireland, said “US warmongering” was playing into the hands of the regime of his own home country.

Dr Abdullah Sayegh, from Lebanon, argued that his country was not run by a puppet government controlled by extreme elements in Syria, but that it was free and had an elected government.

Christians and Muslims also freely mixed together, he stressed, adding: “That’s the reason why we want you (the Irish people) to defend, to raise your voices for us.”

Some of the attendees will include veteran Labour TD and anti-war speaker Michael D Higgins, as well as members of the Lebanese communities and Irish citizens who were evacuated from the region in the last fortnight.