this morning that Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi has given one million euros to Israel. “One Million Euros of Aid from Messi to the Zionist Regime,” and says that the donation comes “as the regime occupying Qods [Jerusalem]” commits “war crimes” in Gaza.

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The story cites “Israeli newspapers,” and says that European newspapers are also carrying the claim. However, the claim actually appears to originate at Le Compétiteur, an Algerian parody site. On July 17, Le Compétiteur ran a story headlined “Lionel Messi Offers One Million Euros to Israel,” declaring that the little Argentine had given an amount equivalent to his World Cup bonus to “the State of Israel,” and notes that this comes amidst attacks on Gaza. The story also says that the claim was ignored “in the Zionist press.”

This story then appears to have been misconstrued by a number of outlets—such as El Fagr in Egypt on July 20 and Réflexion in Algeria on July 21—as a serious report. It has also been spreading on Twitter, complete with doctored photographs of Messi holding a “Stand With Israel” t-shirt. ISNA, or someone else in this game of telephone, appears to have mistranslated Le Compétiteur’s claim that the “Zionist press” was ignoring the story to read that the “Zionist press” had originally reported it. The “Zionist press” then became “Israeli newspapers.” ISNA even took the the time to update Le Compétiteur’s casualty count for the Gaza conflict—250—to 600.

Real Madrid iconic forward Cristiano Ronaldo has donated €1.5 million to Palestinian children in Gaza, the Arabic version of the club’s Classico network reports.

The star forward gave his Golden Boot which he earned in 2011 to the Real Madrid foundation. The Spanish giants in their turn sold it at auction and will now donate the funds to schools in Gaza. Cristiano Ronaldo or the Real Madrid Foundation have not commented on the news so far.

According to various reports, the Real Madrid Foundation has helped to build 167 schools in 66 countries.

It’s not the first time Ronaldo has given to charity. Last year he sold most of his sports shoes at a Real Madrid Foundation auction which was also dedicated to raising funds for schools in Gaza.

Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth €93.9 million. In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world.

Red Card Israeli Racism

The Israeli government violates international law.  It discriminates against Palestinian Arabs through laws and actions involving ethnic cleansing, cultural genocide and collective punishment.  This discrimination is severe, widespread, and unrelenting.  It is generally unrecognised. Palestinian footballers suffer their share.  They are arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned without charge, cannot travel freely and cannot meet properly for games and training. Shamefully, Western governments do almost nothing to stop this racism. We believe that sporting activities can do much to improve relations between communities.  Yet by admitting Israel to international sporting organisations those organisations directly condone the racism.

For more information, go to-

http://rcir.org.uk

Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories

Ahava promises “Beauty Secrets from the Dead Sea” but the real secrets it keeps  are ugly truths- its products actually come from stolen Palestinian  resources in the Occupied Territories  of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. For more information, go to-

http://www.codepink4peace.org/

What is the campaign to stop the JNF?

Stop the JNF is an international campaign aimed at ending the role of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet LeIsrael) (JNF-KKL) in:

• the on-going displacement of indigenous Palestinians from their land
• the theft of their property
• the funding of historic and present day colonies, and
• the destruction of the natural environment.

The JNF continues to serve as a global fundraiser for Israeli ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid. Despite its role in a State institution of Israel (the Israel Land Authority) and in institutionalized racism and apartheid, the JNF and its affiliate organizations enjoy charitable status in over 50 countries and many also enjoy consultative status with the United Nations.

How can we stop the JNF?

Join the campaign in your region to Stop the JNF. In addition to the ongoing struggles against the JNF in Palestine, the campaign is underway in Britain, Canada, France and the United States.

Help stop the human rights and environmental violations of the JNF.

For more information, go to :

http://www.stopthejnf.org/

Sainsbury’s: Fairtrade for people or for profits?

A call to action – end Sainsbury’s complicity in Israel’s occupation and human rights violations

Participate in Fairtrade Fortnight activities 24 February-9 March 2014. 

Join monthly national day of action on 1^st March

Sainsbury’s claims to be the “the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade products” and boasts of their commitment to “sourcing with integrity”.  According to Sainsbury’s: “Consumers care about the provenance of the goods they buy and the integrity of the companies they spend their money with.”

Yet Sainsbury’s refuse to respond to customer demands to end trade with companies that export agricultural produce from Israel’s illegal settlement farms, as The Co-operative Group has done.

On 9th February last year, a worldwide campaign was launched in response to the call from Palestine to expose and end the complicity of Israeli agricultural export corporations in Israel’s ongoing violations of international law and Palestinian human rights.

www.sainsburyscampaign.org

info@sainsburyscampaign.org

Protest at Sainsbury’s AGM: Wednesday 9^th July: Central London

Sainsbury’s: where are your values?’

‘End your Indifference to Palestinian Farming communities’.

 We will be holding a protest at the Sainsbury’s AGM, as part of our continuing campaign calling on Sainsbury’s to cease all trade with companies which are complicit in the colonisation of Palestinian land and destruction of Palestinian farming communities.

 Assemble from 10 a.m. outside Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, just off Parliament Square, London SW1P 3EE. We will be leafleting shareholders as they arrive for the AGM, which starts at 10.45 a.m.

 Sainsbury’s has spent the last year promoting itself as the supermarket chain most concerned with values. The CEO designate, Mike Coupe cannot be clearer when he says:

 Consumers care about the provenance of the goods they buy and the integrity of the companies they spend their money with. They put their trust in us to do the right thing throughout our buying process, so sourcing with integrity is key in our dealings with farmers, growers and suppliers in the UK and around the world.

 We are calling on Mike Coupe to finally ‘do the right thing’ when he takes over as CEO on July 9^th, to end the indifference of his company to the destruction of Palestinian farming and to end support for the immoral and illegal practices of agricultural companies which operate on Palestinian land.

 For more information, to sign the online petition, and to endorse the campaign statement: seewww.sainsburyscampaign.org

Go to the StopG4S campaign page (see the ‘Campaigns’ pull down menu above) and read an eye witness report of the major protests at this year’s company AGM on June 5^th. Use the live link to the Stop G4S campaign website to read more reports on the AGM, plus news of the decision by the Gates Foundation to sell all its shares in G4S- thereby dealing yet another major blow to its reputation

Musical protests  at Sheffield Sainsbury’s

Sat June 7th

The campaign to expose Sainsbury’s bogus claims to be Britain’s leading ethical High Street trader was stepped up a notch in Sheffield  recently. Protesters, including the Sheffield socialist choir, marched through Sainsburys City centre store singing popular songs, but with new words exposing the retail group’s policy of buying from companies who trade in produce grown on land stolen from the Palestinian owners. The land illegally settled by Israelis is in Palestine’s West Bank and Jordan Valley, it has deprived the Palestinians of their land and their livelihood and is part of Israels attempt to drive Palestinians out of their ancestral homeland. All governments other than the government of Israel have denounced the settments as Illegal.

Sainsburys claim they do not buy from the settlements despite the fact that they have been shown proof that companies they trade with sell settlement goods which have been re-labelled “Israeli Produce” . Sainsbury’s intransigence is in contrast to the policy of the Cooperative movement, who, when shown the same proof, not only refuse to trade with the illegal settlements but also with the companies who are based in the settlement or who benefit directly from settlements. Government advice to retail companies is that they should avoid all trade with Israeli settlements. Israeli companies have been repeatedly shown to be re-labelling settlement goods as “produce of Israel.”  Sainsburys purport to be Britains leading ethical retailer, but  continued support for Israeli companies complicit in ethnic cleansing is helping to perpetuate a humanitarian disaster for the Palestinian people.

After the protest inside the store the 50 protesters, many of whom had come from other towns to support the campaign, gathered outside in the busy shopping area to protest songs and hand leaflets to shoppers for over an hour.

On Wednesday July 9th at 10.45am. Sainsburys will hold its Annual General Meeting at the Queen Elizabeth ll Hall opposite Westminster Cathedral. Once again protesters will gather to tell the Sainsburys management that the protest will end the day they change their policy of supporting Companies who benefit from the occupation of Palestine, and not a minute before.