Every December the Bazar turns shopping into giving. We're asking its organisers to make sure no stand sells goods made in illegal Israeli settlements or hands out Israeli government material promoting the state, so that every euro spent there stays a gift.
Pick a gift.
Since 1967, the volunteer-run Bazar International has brought Luxembourg's many communities under one roof to raise money for people who need it. That's exactly why we want it to stay a place where every purchase does good.
Volunteers from dozens of countries give their time so the proceeds can go to social and humanitarian projects in Luxembourg and abroad. That generosity is worth protecting.
Christmas, Hanukkah and the turn of the year are special to people of all faiths and none. Jewish traditions and Hanukkah are part of this season, and we celebrate them too.
Over a hundred stands, food and crafts from all over the world: the Bazar is Luxembourg at its best. We want more of that, not less.
Some goods sold as "Made in Israel" are produced in settlements built on occupied Palestinian land, or by companies the UN lists for their role in the occupation. Buying them for charity sends money to the very system that is driving Palestinians from their homes.
In South Africa v. Israel, the ICJ found that Palestinians in Gaza have plausible rights to protection from genocide and ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts and let aid in.1
The Court ruled Israel's occupation and settlements illegal, and said all states must not render aid or assistance in maintaining it, including by taking steps to prevent trade that helps sustain it.2
Resolution ES-10/24, adopted by 124 votes, calls on all states to stop importing products originating in the settlements.3
The EU's top court ruled that settlement products must say so on the label, because consumers have a right to make ethical choices. Buyers at a stall rarely get that information.4
"Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza."
UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry · September 20255
While Luxembourg gets ready for the holidays, families in Gaza face another winter in tents, on half rations, under a ceasefire that has not stopped the killing: 1,493 Palestinians killed since it began.7 In the West Bank, settler attacks are running at a record pace through the olive harvest.
displaced people living in sites at medium to high risk of flooding as winter rains begin. Winter shelter supplies cover just 18% of families in need.7
people, two in three, expected to face crisis-level hunger or worse through December 2026. 90% of the population depends on food aid.97
children admitted for malnutrition treatment in September 2026 alone, more than 360 of them severely malnourished.7
settler attacks causing casualties or damage so far this year, about seven a day, up from five a day in 2025.7
harvest-related settler attacks between 1 September and 12 October, more than in the whole 2025 season. Over 2,500 olive trees damaged.7
Palestinians forced from their homes in 2026, most of them after settler attacks and the access restrictions that follow.8
Mashhour Yassin, 51, is shot dead as settlers storm homes in the village.10
Settlers from a nearby outpost attack a family picking olives; one man is left in critical condition. Another harvester is beaten and hospitalised.1011
Three herding families, 15 people including 9 children, are driven from their homes after settler attacks.7
We know the stands at the Bazar are run by volunteers and don't officially represent their countries. But the Israel stand has gone beyond selling gifts for charity.
People at the stand have repeatedly been aggressive towards Palestinian activists and their supporters. In 2025 they posed for the camera giving activists the middle finger.
Tensions at the stand led police to step in at both the 2024 and 2025 Bazars.1415
The stand has a track record of handing out material from the Israeli government that promotes a version of its map erasing Palestine and part of Syria. At the 2024 Bazar it was a Ministry of Tourism map with no border and no Palestine: only "Samaria" and "Judea", the Gaza Strip struck out with lines, and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights drawn inside Israel, echoing the "Greater Israel" project.
This is a long-standing ministry practice. Its 2007 tourist map left out the Green Line and coloured most of the West Bank as Israel,17 and this October its "Israel: Land of Creation" ad in the LA Times again showed no West Bank, East Jerusalem or Gaza.16
Use the arrows to page through the brochure.
At the Bazar, people running the stand have been photographed wearing clothing that promotes the state and its official messaging — turning volunteers into walking advertisements for the very government material this campaign asks the organisers to keep out.
Israel's ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, champions the stand. In 2024 she publicly congratulated its organisers and thanked the Bazar and the police "for not giving in to threats".19 In 2025 she visited in person, praising its volunteers for "selling Israeli products and food and sharing the Israeli spirit".20
Her 2023 visit to the Bazar was enough of an event that police asked the organisers to step up security, according to the Interior Minister's answer to parliament.18
The stand also draws visits from senior Luxembourg politicians and even the Grand Duchess, which may be used, as in 2024, by the Israeli embassy or ambassador to promote Israel's image in their capacity as representatives of its government.19
We're not saying don't visit the Israel stand. But think about how the State of Israel, through its embassy, is using a charity event to promote its own government.
Use the arrows to see both of her posts.
A government that the UN says has committed genocide should not get to use Luxembourg's best-loved charity event as its shop window.
The Bazar already sets rules for its stands. We're asking for one more, applied fairly to everyone.
Ask the Israel stand, like every stand, to show the place of production of what it sells, and check it against the occupied territories and the UN database of businesses involved in settlements.6
Remove any product made in an illegal settlement or by a company profiting from the occupation and war economy, and any Israeli government material, like Ministry of Tourism brochures, that promotes travel to a state the UN says has committed genocide.
Add a short human-rights clause to the stand rules on which products can be sold in future years, so visitors and volunteers know that every product bought at the Bazar is bought in good conscience.
The Bazar's good name, and the generosity of its visitors, must not be used to clean up the image of a state found by the UN Commission of Inquiry to have committed genocide.5 Charity should never be a cover for it.
We're not asking the Bazar to make a political decision or take sides. We're asking it to follow international law, as Luxembourg itself is now doing: on 16 October 2026 the government approved a draft law to ban imports from Israeli settlements,13 following the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and others.
Dear Members of the Board of Directors,
As a resident of Luxembourg and regular supporter of local charitable initiatives, I value the philanthropic mission of the Bazar International de Luxembourg.
However, I share the deep concerns of many citizens regarding documented practices from previous editions that compromise the event’s apolitical nature: the distribution of official promotional literature from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and maps erasing internationally recognized borders; the public promotion of the stand by the Israeli Embassy as an official diplomatic showcase; and the lack of verified compliance regarding products originating from occupied territories under EU origin-labelling laws (CJEU Case C-363/18).
A charitable event under Grand Ducal patronage must not serve as a public diplomacy platform for states facing proceedings before the International Court of Justice.
In the absence of clear, official guarantees from the stand organizers certifying their complete independence from government ministries and excluding state propaganda and non-compliant products, I urge the Board to suspend the stand’s participation for this edition to protect the Bazaar’s neutrality, reputation, and charitable mission.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]