Palestine activists shared free soup at the Ympyrätalo S-market to thank S Group for its human rights policy

Photo: Eero Yli-Vakkuri

Palestine activists thanked the S Group co-operative’s representative councils, customers who participated in boycotts, everyone who voted in the co-operative elections, and the group’s management by offering free lentil soup at the Hakaniemi Ympyrätalo S-market on Wednesday the 17th December.

Targeted consumer boycotts and co-operative representative council initiatives initiated a change as a result of which the S Group has withdrawn Israeli products from sale. Sumud – the Finnish Palestine network and the broader free activist movement in support of Palestinian rights have politicized a traditionally cooperative retail organization. Their subsequent objective is to advance structural and policy-level changes within municipal governance frameworks. 

Nearly 200 cooperative election candidates from across Finland committed to Sumud’s 2024 election pledge, which aim was to prevent the sale of products linked to Israel’s illegal settlements in S Group stores such as Prismas and Alepas. Elections that traditionally focus on food quality and price unexpectedly became a platform on which voters and candidates were able to express responsibility in human rights issues. Thanks to a visible campaign, for example in the HOK-Elanto area as many as one fifth of elected candidates committed to submitting initiatives on the issue.

The cooperative election campaign of an Palestinian-led organization is analogous to the boycotts promoted by the global BDS movement, whose objective is the restoration of Palestinians’ fundamental rights and to end Israel’s apartheid and illegal occupation. These goals are pursued non-violently through boycotts directed at the State of Israel and its institutions. One of the movement’s leading figures Omar Barghouti visited Finland in September and emphasized the importance of targeted boycotts. Actions are directed especially at companies where consumer action has a tangible impact, so that people can experience the benefits of organizing.

“The S Group’s decision is the result of hundreds of thousands of Finns taking political responsibility through active participation and consumer boycotts. Members engaged in the cooperative, along with voters in cooperative elections, elevated individuals who were willing to take a stand on the issue into decision-making positions,” says Havu Laakso of the BDS Finland group, who served as Sumud’s cooperative election coordinator. Software engineer Teppo Pölönen, who conceived the street kitchen and is interested in civic engagement, sees the process as a victory for local democracy: “Thanks to ordinary people, the traditional and cherished cooperative movement is now paying closer attention to its international responsibility.”

BDS Finland, which coordinates boycott campaigns, has achieved nationwide results. These include more than 150 self-employed professionals, associations, and cultural institutions declaring themselves apartheid-free zones. Apartheid-free zones participate in the BDS movement’s boycotts and support its objectives.

Palestine activists congratulate everyone who contributed to the development

After the cooperative elections, initiatives to withdraw Israeli products or settlement products were submitted at least in the HOK-Elanto and TOK regions. HOK-Elanto representative council member Ami Värtö (Left Alliance) took the election pledge to its furthest extent by proposing a suspension of the sale of all Israeli products. The grounds cited are strong suspicions of genocide committed by Israel against Palestinians, illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and repeated, increasingly blatant violations of international law.

“The decision was more than I could even hope for. On the other hand, all of us who have followed the situation in Gaza surely agree that the sale of Israeli products should have been stopped much earlier. In that sense, the decision is neither radical nor surprising,” Värtö says, emphasizing how important the actions of cooperative activists and ordinary consumers have been to the process. “It is great that the S Group has listened to feedback from many quarters and acted accordingly, in the only humanly right way.”

“We activists have been in close dialogue with customers and retailers at Prismas and Alepas about the importance of boycotts for over two years. For us, human rights are not political questions but the starting point for all activity, so the decision to take Palestinian rights into account is empowering. Resources are now freed for other solidarity work,” says social services professional Charlotta Boucht, who participated in the soup distribution on Wednesday.

The lentil soup was prepared according to a Palestinian recipe, and its cook Maliha Ahmed thanks the S Group and its representative councils directly: “Thank you for listening to our voice, thank you for hearing ordinary people.” The soup was prepared in the kitchens of Dodo Ry, a Finnish environmental association in Pasila and the leftover soup was distributed at the No Fixed Abode (Vva ry) facilities. 

Palestine activist Suvi Seppälä, who is participating in the cooking and distribution, underscores the significance of the decision: “The actions of ordinary people are more important than ever, as political decision-makers have remained silent about the suffering of civilians in Gaza and in illegal settlements and have offered diplomatic support for Israel’s actions through arms deals concluded during the genocide.”

The change is consistent with the S Group’s previous policies and actions, emphasizes Alviina Alametsä (Green League), who submitted the initiative in the HOK-Elanto area. “The argument I used, and which seemed to resonate, was that the S Group has already removed, for example, Russian products from its selection due to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Israeli products should be treated in the same way in the current context.”

The activities of the BDS movement continue nationwide, and this year 723 municipal election candidates committed to ensuring that their municipalities do not invest in companies complicit in human rights violations or procure from them. Of these, more than 185 were elected, and in the capital region initiatives have been submitted at least in Espoo by Elina Rodriguez (Left Alliance). The campaign’s election pledge seeks to exclude actors that economically benefit from apartheid, genocide, and illegal settlements from public procurement and tendering by applying the EU Public Procurement Directive (2014/24/EU).