HYDERABAD: Social media circles in Hyderabad were rife on Monday with calls to boycott dates from Karachi Bakery because they were allegedly imported from Israel and buying Israeli products would mean supporting its oppression of Palestinian Muslims.
Some youth from the Old City of Hyderabad had gone to the Karachi Bakery outlet opposite Moazzamjahi Market to buy dates, which are consumed in huge numbers during Ramzan. While purchasing the packaged dates, the found that they had been imported from Israel, sources said.
Karachi Bakery staffers said they do not know where exactly the dates are imported from. "We buy dates from our distributors in Hyderabad and Bangalore and are not sure whether they get them from Israel or other West Asian countries," said Karachi Bakery manager Khushiram Tolani.
One Hyderabadi distributor shrugged off the Israel connection. "We buy our dates from Al Alwani Dates in Saudi Arabia but also from other distributors in Iran, Iraq and UAE. The circulated picture of the date packet from Israel is of dates bought from another distributor from Hyderabad," said Md Hussain of Reen Dates.
On the other hand, the boycott call has not affected the sale of dates from the famous bakery. "Ramzan is the month of maximum sales of dates and they are as usual at their peak," said Tolani.
Muslim buyers of dates from Karachi Bakery are unperturbed by the boycott call. "Dates are made by Allah and grow on trees. It doesn't matter which country they grow in. This is mischief by a handful of politicians, who want to reap political mileage during this time. Next they will ask us to boycott Irani dates made by Shias," said Md Sajid of Afzalgunj, a regular buyer of Karachi Bakery dates.