Co-op to sell ‘Palestinian beer’ after dropping Israeli goods from shelves

Co-op removed products from the Jewish state across more than 2,300 stores and its wholesale business serving 6,000 additional outlets.

By Aaron Sull, Jewish Breaking News

Just weeks after banning Israeli products from its shelves, Co-op has announced plans to stock “Palestinian beer” across selected UK stores nationwide.

Britain’s largest mutual will begin selling lagers from Palestine’s Taybeh Brewing starting September 10.

Founded in 1994, Taybeh will produce its Sun & Stone brand in Scotland through local partner Brewgooder, with Co-op saying it was “proud to be able to sell the beer in our stores.”

“We have a longstanding legacy of supporting communities and know the positive impact co-operation can have in fostering long-term recovery in regions affected by conflict,” Co-op director of public affairs Paul Gerrard said in a statement on Friday.

“The Brewgooder and Taybeh beer is such a great initiative to support economic stability, and we’re proud to be able to sell the beer in our stores and donate the profits.”

Although Taybeh operates in Judea and Samaria, James Hughes, co-founder of Brewgooder, explained the brewery is unable to export freely due to “checkpoint delays, customs restrictions and soaring operational costs” under Israeli “occupation.”

“When we first read about Taybeh, we were completely moved by their resilience. They’re incredible people who deserve to have their story told and their beer enjoyed around the world,” Hughes said.

“We see this as a chance not just to stand by a brewery we admire, but to also share a perspective of Palestine that is not often seen, while helping to support humanitarian aid in Gaza and elsewhere where the suffering is unimaginably unjust.”

Co-op placed Israel on its June list of 17 “countries of concern” citing human rights abuses in Gaza, removing products from the Jewish state across more than 2,300 stores and its wholesale business serving 6,000 additional outlets.

Since 2007, Britain’s fifth largest retailer has already refused to stock products from Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.

But under renewed pressure from the BDS, Co-op members voted overwhelmingly to cease trading with Israel at the retailer’s annual general meeting in May, with 73% backing the motion despite fierce opposition from pro-Israel groups.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign welcomed the announcement as a “seismic victory,” saying the Co-op had “shown great moral courage and ethical principle in deciding that it cannot ignore voices from the British public calling out Israel’s gross human rights abuses” and called on other British supermarket chains to follow suit.