Investigation Exposes How Etsy Profits From Israeli Apartheid

Etsy, the popular U.S.-based e-commerce website, is profiting from goods made and sold in Israel's illegal settler colonies in the occupied West Bank, a report published Wednesday revealed.

"Under the radar, Etsy—the popular online platform for selling and buying artisanal and vintage items, with a mission to 'keep commerce human'—has been profiting from businesses with shops in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT)," states the briefing, which was published by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change (IJSC), Global Justice Now, and War on Want.

"It's time to bring an end to this shameless corporate profiteering."

"This briefing reveals, for the first time, how Etsy hosts numerous shops that explicitly name as their locations places that are considered illegal Israeli settlements by the [United Nations] and under international law—and as recently confirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its ruling in July," the publication continues.

The ICJ's nonbinding advisory opinion affirmed that "the policies and practices of Israel in the OPT amount to apartheid."

Report author Claire Provost said that "Western complicity in Israeli war crimes is so pervasive that even Etsy, the popular platform for 'feel-good' shopping, is connected to businesses in the settlements."

"So far these ties have gone under the radar and unchallenged," added Provost, IJSC's co-founder and co-director. "That, at least, ends now."

Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden said that "Etsy isn't simply turning a blind eye to stores listed on its site operating in illegal Israeli settlements—it is directly profiting from and even in certain cases, promoting them."

"Doing so risks complicity in war crimes—and the reality is, they're not the only company profiting from the human misery inflicted on Palestinians day in, day out," he added. "It's time to bring an end to this shameless corporate profiteering."

Etsy charges listing and transaction fees. It also offers seller advertising for an additional fee. "Star sellers" are highlighted to prospective buyers. At least four star sellers—including one that had over 12,000 sales as of late July—specifically list illegal Israeli settlements as their locations.

The report identifies 14 Etsy stores located in the Ariel settlement, nine in Maale Adumim, and four in Tekoa.

"The full amount of money that has gone to businesses in the settlements, and Etsy in the process, is hard to estimate," the report acknowledges. Etsy "also hosts many more shops that only say they are based in 'Israel,' without specifying particular locations, making it hard or impossible for consumers to tell if they are also in such settlements."

"This trade has a significant Irish connection, too—which will alarm many in that country, where there are growing calls to cut ties with settlement businesses," the publication continues. "Etsy's contracts with these shops in settlements appear to be done through the company's Irish subsidiary, Etsy Ireland U.C., which is headquartered in Dublin."

Amid "Israeli efforts to expand their illegal settlements in the West Bank and increasing settler violence against Palestinians," some "consumers of conscience may have bought unknowingly from Etsy shops in these illegal settlements," the report adds. "Etsy may not have been questioned about these business links before."

"These problems, at least, can end now," the paper states. "We now know that Etsy is another company that is profiting from business relationships with the illegal settlements. By facilitating the sale of products from shops located in these settlements, Etsy could be connected to war crimes—and this could, in turn, be making users of the platform around the world, as well as Ireland (as the location of Etsy's subsidiary contracting with settlement shops), unknowingly involved too."

"These business relationships look like a serious problem for Etsy. But Etsy also has an opportunity to respond to these revelations, and concerns about them," the report argues. "It could act on its ability, as written into its policies, to cut its ties with shops in illegal settlements."

"It could also require that all shops disclose their location (city/town and not just country)," the authors added. "In doing
so, it could show real leadership to many already or potentially loyal users: people who want to make 'feel good,' conscious and more ethical purchases online."

In 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Unionruled that food products made in Israeli settlements must indicate that they originate from a settlement instead of being labeled "Product of Israel."

The following year in the United States, the administration of then-President Donald Trumpordered goods produced in much of the occupied West Bank to be labeled "Made in Israel."

The global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has notched a string of successes in its campaign to educate and influence consumers to eschew Israeli settlement products.

Responding to a query from Provost, Etsy said that "we have shared this information internally with the appropriate teams for review."