"This product supports genocide" stickers appear on products at Rockville store

Rockville City police were called to a store in the King Farm area, after stickers reading "This product supports genocide" were placed on products there on October 6, 2024. The store was in the 400 block of Redland Boulevard, but was not identified by police. Around 7:00 AM that morning, police say, one or more individuals affixed the stickers to packages of "wafers" at the store. The action took place a day before the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, in which 1,200 people died, and more than 200 were taken hostage.

Similar stickers have been seen worldwide in recent months, and in some cases, have led to supermarket chains apologizing to customers. They are posted by activists supporting Palestinians in the war in Gaza that followed the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which 41,900 Palestinians have died so far, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The stickers have been placed on products that are either imported from Israel, or items like Pampers diapers, Sabra hummus, and Coffee Mate, produced by companies that have been accused - sometimes erroneously - of financially supporting Israel in one form or another. 

The stickers are part of the larger Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign that has been waged against Israel long before 2023. Many opponents of the BDS effort say it is anti-semitic, and that such stickers qualify as hate speech, which is likely why the police became involved here.