Campaigners have launched a petition calling on the Co-op to scrap its controversial ban on buying from some Israeli companies.

The supermarket made headlines in the JC last week after Jewish residents staged a protest outside a new store in Hampstead Garden Suburb, calling for an end to the policy which they branded “antisemitic”.

The Co-operative Group does not trade in goods from places "where there is a broad international consensus that the status of a designated region or state is illegal".

It specifically cites "Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories”, adding: “We do not source any produce or own-brand products from the Israeli settlements.”

Within 24 hours of the petition going live, more than 2,000 people signed up to express their dismay at what they called “discrimination against Israeli suppliers”.

We Believe In Israel, a grassroots campaign network which seeks to unite British supporters of Israel from across the political spectrum, launched the petition on Monday.

It states: “We, the undersigned, deplore the Co-op Group’s discrimination against Israeli suppliers.

“Egregious human rights abuses by dictatorships around the world do not trigger a boycott under the Co-op Group’s Human Rights and Trade policy.

"However, companies from Israel, which is a democracy and the only free state in the Middle East, are singled out for boycotts.

“Boycotting Israeli companies in this way has not had any positive impact on advancing peace.

“The major impact has been to alienate from the Co-op Group a large section of the Jewish Community and other customers in the UK who are sympathetic to Israel.”

In 2012, the Co-Operative Group extended its policy to include a number of companies which mostly operate inside the Green Line but which source some produce from West Bank settlements.

Its website says: “In April 2012, our Board determined that, going forward, we will additionally no longer engage with any supplier of produce known to be sourcing from the Israeli settlements.

“We can categorically state that this position does not constitute a boycott of Israeli businesses. We remain committed to sourcing produce from and trading with Israeli suppliers that do not source from the settlements.”

Support for the petition has been spreading on social media, with the group’s Facebook garnering hundreds of comments.

Luke Akehurst, director of We Believe in Israel, said: “Boycotting Israeli companies in this way has not had any positive impact on advancing peace.

"Rather than the negative and divisive politics of boycotts, the Co-op Group should help bring Israeli and Palestinian co-operatives closer together to build peace and coexistence.”

A spokesperson for the Co-op told the JC: “We do not boycott Israeli businesses.

"The Co-op remains committed to sourcing produce, with Israeli mangos, avocados, figs and pomegranates currently on sale in our stores, from suppliers that do not source from the settlements.”