Salmon activists Eko in link to anti-Israel activities

A foreign activist pressure group which tried to ban salmon from Australia’s supermarket shelves also has links to anti-Israel activities, it can be revealed.

A foreign activist pressure group which tried to ban salmon from Australia’s supermarket shelves also has links to anti-Israel activities, including an attempt to ban the Israeli soccer team from playing in international competition.

Eko, a left-wing United States-based campaign organisation which markets itself as “committed to curbing the growing power of corporations”, earlier this year attempted to strip Tasmanian farmed salmon from Aussie shelves — firstly by launching a petition against the industry.

The group then unsuccessfully attempted to pressure Coles and Woolworths into dropping salmon at the supermarkets’ respective annual general meetings late this year.

Eko was one of several groups which co-ordinated a resolution moved by a small group of shareholders at Woolworths’ annual general meeting in October.

It said salmon farming should be banned in Tasmania because it endangered the rare Maugean skate.

A salmon farm in Tasmania.

Eko’s other activities have included mass petitions attracting hundreds of thousands of signatures, including one lobbying for world soccer body FIFA and the Olympics to ban Israel from competition.

Eko had previously successfully pressured Puma into ending its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association.

The organisation is registered as a social welfare non-profit organisation in various US states, and has branches in Ireland and the UK, but its website doesn’t state that they are registered in any form in Australia.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President David Ossip queried why the organisation hard turned its attention to Israel over other countries.

“We need to be wary of foreign, activist organisations which seek to foment division here in Australia,” he said.

“It is always worth asking why certain activist organisations direct their ire and focus towards Israel – a liberal democracy facing an impossible security dilemma – to the exclusion of any other country or conflict.”

A spokeswoman for Eko said the organisation is “member-led which means we only run campaigns that are supported by our members”.

She said their FIFA campaign has been signed by over 400,000 people around the world.

“FIFA and the Olympics are governing bodies that work closely with corporations to generate billions of dollars, and we hold these bodies and corporations to account for the negative impacts that they have,” she said.

“This includes protecting land and Indigenous rights all over the world, and Palestine is not an exception.”

She defended attempts to exclude Israel from events on the world stage, saying “educated consensus is clear that Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza”.

“Banning a country committing genocide from participating in the international community should not be controversial,” she said.

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Originally published as Salmon activists Eko in link to anti-Israel activities