The motion, which urged the Co-op board to “show moral courage and leadership” by taking “all Israeli products off the shelves” in response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza, received backing from nearly 73% of Co-op members that voted.
The fact that Co-op was the first supermarket to boycott Russian products after the invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 was also highlighted in the motion, with the board urged to apply the same ethical principles to Israel as it did to Russia.
According to official figures, more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, but a Lancet study from July 2024 cited in the motion said the actual death toll could exceed 186,000. Meanwhile, human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have concluded that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres has also said that the “entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine”.
Submitted ahead of the group’s Annual General Meeting on 17 May, all of Co-op’s approximately 6.5 million members were able to vote.
The Co-op board is not obliged to implement the demands of the motion, but it said that it would take the vote into consideration while reviewing its sourcing policy towards the end of the summer.
Prior to the vote, the board pointed to the fact that Co-op has “not sourced products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories since 2007″ following a previous motion.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which provided support for the most recent motion, called on Co-op to act on the wishes of its members and support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“Boycotting Israeli goods is now the policy of one of the largest supermarkets in the UK,” the organisation said.
“The co-op board must abide by the motion and remove all Israeli goods from the shelves.”
Co-op operates more than 2,300 food stores as well as a wholesale business that supplies around 6,000 additional outlets.
Members also backed the appointment of Lord Simon Woolley and Wais Shaifta as non-independent directors, as well as a motion focused on animal welfare.
Meanwhile, Sarah McCarthy-Fry was successfully re-elected as a member nominated director, and Mitch Oliver was appointed to the board as a new member nominated director.
The AGM was led by Co-op chair Debbie White and included presentations from CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq, CFO Rachel Izzard and president of the National Members’ Council Denise Scott-McDonald.
“In 2024, the number of active member-owners at our Co-op grew to 6.2 million, with a significant increase in member-owners engaging with our Co-op and shaping what we do,” White said.
“Today’s we’re at 6.5 million. The passion and commitment we have seen from our member-owners today is testament to our work in putting our member-owners right at the heart of the business they own. It is clear that democracy is alive and thriving within our Co-op.”
