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With very limited resources, UMKR has made a major impact in the global United Methodist Church.
Groundbreaking divestment and boycott actions by the UMC would never have happened without UMKR's advocacy AND the extraordinary partners and allies who have worked with us and supported our efforts.
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United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
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ABOUT THE BOYCOTT SUCCESS
Podcast: How General Mills divested from apartheid Electronic Intifada • 2 July 2022
Nora Barrows-Friedman speaks with Dov Baum from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), about amajor divestment victory and what activists can learn from the two-year campaign leading up to it.
General Mills Avoids Anti-BDS Backlash for Pulling Out of Settlements
By making no explicit political comment, the company has been spared the penalties Ben & Jerry’s faced.
Jewish Currents • 22 June 2022
➨ Al Jazeera Video with Charlie Pillsbury
Following up on the Pillsbury family statement supporting the boycott (see below), Al Jazeera posted this short video of Charlie Pillsbury sharing some thoughts about the boycott, the "elephant" General Mills, and Israel's settler colonialism.
See it on Facebook
➨ Public statement from Pillsbury family members:
"Why we must boycott Pillsbury"
This article appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the city that is home to General Mills' headquarters. Statement signed by Charlie Pillsbury and four other Pillsbury family members. Download it
• AFSC has a report on the Pillsbury family statement
See it here
• The Mondoweiss report: "Members of Pillsbury Family join BDS Fight Against Company" See it here
UMKR Joins Coalition Boycotting Pillsbury
September 2020
LOCAL ACTION
➨ It’s time for General Mills to quit the settlements
October 2021 – Dozens of people rallied in front of the headquarters of General Mills in Minneapolis, Minnesota (photo above), following the company’s annual shareholder meeting on 28 September. The protest is a recent example of activists holding large corporations accountable for their complicity in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Read more
➨ Holding General Mills accountable for profiting from the occupation
Read this report and commentary on the protest outside and engagement inside, at the General Mills shareholders meeting in September 2020.
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TAKE ACTION
SumOfUs is one of the largest internet activist movements. They are dedicated to curbing the growing power of corporations and holding them to account for their policies and practices.
Already over 120,000 people have signed the petition demanding that General Mills and other major corporations end their complicity with the Israeli apartheid regime’s oppression of Palestinian people. You can sign it here!
SumOfUs Action Alert - send an email to key leaders
This year, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November 202), SumOfUs invites the world to join the action, by sending a person email to the General Mills CEO and key decision makers to take action now. They have some points to use and the form to create to create and send the email. See it here
PILLSBURY-FREE CONGREGATIONS
Several congregations in the United Church of Christ have taken the pledge to avoid Pillsbury products and to spread the word about this boycott.
UMKR has an adapted version of a pledge that congregations could use to join the Pillsbury boycott, an effective local action for Palestinian rights.
- Pillsbury-Free Church Pledge
- We, the justice-seeking congregation at ______________ Church, call for the General Mills/Pillsbury plant, owned and operated by the Israeli company Shalgal Ltd. in the Atarot Industrial Settlement, to stop producing Pillsbury products at this site.
- This factory is located on occupied Palestinian land in a settlement area that is illegal under international law.
- Until General Mills stops producing Pillsbury products at this factory, we pledge to:
- 1. Boycott all Pillsbury products and
- 2. Participate in actions to promote this boycott.
- Adopted by the congregation on ________________
• Download the adapted Pledge in a pdf file.
• Download the presentation used at a UCC church that took the pledge.
• Contact an organizer in the United Church of Christ, Catherine Alder, to learn more about how you could present the Pillsbury boycott in your congregation and build support for the pledge: aldercatherine@aol.com
As recently as May 2022, our booth at the United Women in Faith Assembly in Orlando, Florida included a display about the Pillsbury boycott. We didn't know that this success for the boycott was just around the corner!
UPDATES, July 2022 - The Pillsbury family: Can we have some Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough now?
By Charlie, George, Leah, Lydia, and Sarah Pillsbury
In 2021, Pillsbury family members boycotted the company for doing business on stolen Palestinian Land. See this on the AFSC blog
SEE MORE ON THIS BOYCOTT SUCCESS ON THE RIGHT »»»
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General Mills withdraws from the Israeli occupation!
General Mills recently announced that it had sold its Israeli subsidiary and has ended the production of its Pillsbury products in an illegal settlement. This is a remarkable victory for for all those around the world who supported the boycott and brought pressure to bear on this giant corporation.
UMKR commends General Mills for making the right decision and ending their complicity in the Israeli occupation and denial of Palestinian rights.
We invite all supporters of the Palestinian cause to take action now by sending the CEO of General Mills a message of thanks: Click here to send that message with UMKR.
In September 2020, UMKR wrote to the CEO of General Mills, informing him of our intention to join a boycott of Pillsbury products if his company did not end its operations on stolen Palestinian land.
LEARN MORE
Boycott
The United Nations has named
GENERAL MILLS as one of seven
U.S. businesses that are violating
international law by operating
in occupied Palestinian territories.
Its Pillsbury factory in the Atarot
Industrial Zone, an illegal Israeli
settlement in East Jerusalem, has
displaced, exploited, stifled, and
otherwise harmed local Palestinian
lives, livelihoods, and land.
General Mills is profiting from apartheid and
is complicit in Israel's occupation and annexation of the West Bank.
Incredibly, General Mills has endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They have also stated in their Policy on Human Rights,
"Respect for human rights is fundamental to our purpose of serving the world by
making food people love and to our commitment to ethical business conduct."
It's past time that this company put their principles into practice!
➨ "We're boycotting Pillsbury. Here's why you should join us."
Learn more about the boycott in this great article from AFSC
➨ In September 2020, UMKR wrote to the CEO of General Mills, informing him of our intention to join the boycott if his company did not end its operations on stolen Palestinian land.
See the letter on our website and download it.
Stand up for Palestinian rights!
Send a message to General Mills' CEO that you will boycott Pillsbury products until the company stops doing business in illegal settlements.
Click here to take action with AFSC
Pillsbury factory in Atarot Settlement on occupied Palestinian land
We are grateful for the leadership of American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in this boycott effort and to all the partners in faith and civil society organizations that we have worked with for two years. See more about the boycott success above and on the right.
It is time to let the world know about this victory, and invite others to thank the company for doing the right thing.
Click here to send a Thank You message now.
Spread the word, so others will do the same!
As of now, our boycott of Pillsbury has ended.
Below, you can learn more about this boycott, the reason for it and the actions taken.
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➨ U.N. publishes list of companies involved in illegal Israeli settlements
Mandated by a U.N. resolution that reaffirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements and identified them as the root cause of many violations of Palestinian human rights. Find out more about this U.N. list
➨ General Mills' complicity documented
Investigate and Who Profits are two excellent sources for well-documented information on companies that are complicit in Israel's illegal occupation.
See their profile on Investigate
See General Mills profile at Who Profits
➨ Atarot Settlement: The Industrial Key in Israel’s Plan to Permanently Erase Palestine
This report examines the extent of Israel’s discriminatory measures against Palestinians, exemplified in the case of the Atarot industrial settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, and its adverse impacts on the lives of Palestinians.
See the report
➨ The Israeli Occupation and The Settlements
At PalestinePortal.org, find out what is wrong with the Israeli occupation and the great harm wrought by the illegal settlements, the cornerstone of that occupation.
Find out more about the Occupation
Find out about the Settlements
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