A group of Comox Valley residents took part in the province-wide week of action to get the provincial government to ban wine from Israel in BC Liquor Stores.
The event, organized in part by Comox Valley 4 Palestine and Ban Israeli Wine BC, was on March 29, and involved a group of people walking from the Courtenay Courthouse, where demonstrators gathered before marching to Courtenay City Hall. There, they raised the Palestinian flag, calling on the City of Courtenay to take a stand just as it did when it flew the Ukrainian flag in solidarity following Russia鈥檚 2022 invasion.
Following the flag-raising, marchers continued to the BC Liquor Store on Cliffe Avenue, where they informed shoppers about the campaign and the urgent need for the B.C. government to act against Israeli wine imports. This protest was part of a broader campaign happening across B.C. during Israeli Apartheid Week (March 21鈥�30), with similar actions taking place in Vancouver and Victoria.
The Ban Israeli Wine BC campaign highlights the double standard in the provincial government鈥檚 response to international conflicts.
"In February 2022, BC swiftly banned Russian liquor imports in response to the invasion of Ukraine 鈥� months before federal sanctions were imposed. More recently, in March 2025, the BC Liquor Distribution Branch removed products from Republican-controlled U.S. states amid a trade dispute," a release from the organizers says. "Yet, despite Israel鈥檚 ongoing genocide in Gaza and widespread international condemnation, the B.C. government continues to allow the sale of Israeli wines in publicly owned liquor stores."
鈥淲hen Russia invaded Ukraine, BC acted swiftly pulling Russian alcohol from shelves months before federal sanctions. When trade disputes flared with the U.S., the province immediately yanked products from Republican states. But when it comes to Israel鈥檚 genocide in Gaza? Silence. This double standard isn鈥檛 just hypocrisy 鈥� it鈥檚 anti-Palestinian racism,鈥� said Tamer Aburamadan, an organizer with Ban Israeli Wine BC. 鈥淭he NDP has full power to sanction Israeli wine today. If they can stand up to Russia and the U.S., why not Israel? The moral choice is clear: Ban Israeli imports now.鈥�
Last year, the councillors from the City of Courtenay said that the situation in Palestine is "complicated" and that different councillors had differing opinions about the issue.
"We stand firmly against violence and those who glorify it, and we strive for lasting peace," Premier David Eby posted on social media on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the beginning of the conflict.
