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Rabat – Amidst the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza that has killed over 29,000 Palestinians, calls are growing louder around the world to boycott companies doing business with Israel as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The latest company to face such boycott calls is Moroccan food company Dari, after its products recently appeared on the website of Israeli company Tomer which was founded in 1977.
Dari, a leading Moroccan couscous and pasta brand established in 1995, exports its products to over 45 countries across 5 continents. However, recently, activists on social media were outraged when they discovered that Dari had apparently signed a deal to sell its products through Tomer, a major Israeli food exporter and distributor since 1983.
“Dari has signed a partnership agreement with a Zionist company to export couscous and pasta to the enemy entity. Here is the link to the importing Zionist company to confirm,” tweeted user @aabdpres in Arabic, along with a link to Tomer’s website showing Dari products.
The social media backlash was swift, with calls for boycotts of Dari products under the hashtag “#BoycottDari” gaining traction online. “I am disappointed and shocked! #boycottDari “maykhta dari..” it’s over,” said X, formerly Twitter, user @NbLouloutte.
Morocco joined the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel in December 2020.
Since then, trade between the two countries has grown exponentially from $13.8 million in January 2022 to $28.9 million in the first four months of 2023 alone according to data from the Abraham Accords Peace Institute quoted in Spanish newspaper LaRazon.
The official Arabic language Facebook page of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a photo of Dari products back in March 2021, celebrating the cooperation between the two countries.
“The taste of Morocco in Israel! Moroccan couscous being sold in Israel, there is high demand for Moroccan products. There is mutual cooperation between Israel and Morocco in various fields including trade and agriculture,” read the caption of the post.
However, the ongoing Israeli war campaign on Gaza that has killed over 29,000 Palestinians including thousands of children has led to protests against the normalization deals. On February 11th, tens of thousands of Moroccans marched in Rabat, demanding the government cut ties with Israel in response to the devasating war, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Neither Dari nor Tomer have responded to the boycott calls so far.
However, the campaign against Dari has opened up a larger debate in Morocco about the Palestinian cause and whether economic cooperation with Israel should continue when tensions are as fraught as ever as Israeli forces continue their devastating war on Gaza.
