E-mail Alleges 'Boycott' of Israeli Products in Norway Thursday, April 23, 2009

A much forwarded e-mail alleges that "some [Norwegian] supermarket chains have decided to place special identification stickers on products from Israel" to facilitate the identification of such products for those who want to boycott Israeli products.

The e-mail, which first appeared in 2002, is once again being widely circulated in various versions.

The Norwegian Jewish community inspected supermarkets and found no evidence of any special identification stickers or other means of singling out Israeli products beyond normal "country of origin" identification that applies to all products. 

In 2002, one supermarket chain, Coop Norge, specifically denied media reports about a boycott.

The Norwegian government has never supported a policy of singling out or boycotting Israeli products.

In December 2005, the regional parliament of Sor-Trondelag, Norway, voted to launch an official boycott of products made in Israel, but cancelled the plan after being informed by the national government of its illegality.