Promoting true Palestinian Dates
Making sure your Palestinian Dates are genuine
After more than two years of genocide in Gaza, many people of conscience have refused to buy Israeli products. Yet, because of widespread deception and mislabelling, some now avoid Palestinian dates as well, fearing they could be Israeli in disguise. This confusion directly harms genuine Palestinian farming communities whose survival depend on the annual harvest of dates.
In response to these deliberate deceptions, the Palestinian Dates Monitoring Authority (PDMA) was created to bring honesty, accountability, and transparency to the Palestinian dates market in the UK.
The PDMA enables consumers to make ethical, informed choices that support genuine Palestinian producers while exposing those attempting to profit from exploitation and fraud.
The Process
How to report?
If you come across any Medjoul dates that seem suspicious and want to report them to PDMA, please follow these steps:
1. Take photos of all sides of the box, including the blank ones. Sometimes a batch number is printed on a seemingly empty side, and showing every side helps confirm if key details like the importer or country of origin are missing.
2. Take a picture of the price label, as the price can often be a clue to where the dates come from. Israeli dates are usually priced lower.
3. Note the time, date, and exact location of where you saw the product. Include the shop name. If your phone has location data turned on, this information is usually saved automatically in your photos.
4. Explain why you believe the dates might be suspicious and include any conversation you had with the shopkeeper about them.
Email all this information to report@pdmauk.org
The process
Verifying Brands - what is involved?
The PDMA has reached out to all major UK suppliers of Palestinian dates, a total of fourteen companies, to verify and document the authentic origin of their products.
To ensure accountability, we have asked for two full seasons of unredacted documentation covering all imports of Palestinian dates.
This includes:
01
EUR.1 Movement Certificates stamped by the Palestinian Authority, showing the Palestinian company of origin and the UK importing company, along with quantities and dates of import.
02
Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture Phytosanitary Certificates specifying where the dates were grown, importer and exporter details, quantity, date, and method of transport.
03
Internal Movement Certificates (if applicable) issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, documenting transfers from farms to packing houses, including farm names, packing house locations, dates, and quantities.
Pledge to Boycott Apartheid
As part of the verification process, each company is required to sign a pledge affirming that it does not buy or sell any Israeli goods, not just dates. This commitment ensures that all their business practices remain free from complicity with apartheid.
Verified brands
The PDMA has verified four brands as suppliers of genuinely Palestinian dates for this year. This does not imply that other companies are selling non-Palestinian dates. It simply means that they have not yet provided the documentation needed to complete verification for this season.
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