Military Audit: Morrisons

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

No public evidence identified of any contract, tender, framework agreement, or memorandum of understanding between Morrisons and the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Border Police, or any other Israeli state security body. No public evidence identified of Morrisons appearing in SIBAT defence-export directories or Israeli defence-exhibition catalogues, consistent with Morrisons’ status as a UK grocery retailer rather than a manufacturer or exporter of defence goods. No public evidence identified of press or trade-press reporting on any defence-sector cooperation between Morrisons and Israeli defence entities.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

Morrisons is a food and grocery retailer, and no ruggedised, mil-spec, or tactical product line has been identified in its operations. No public evidence identified of export-licence applications, end-user certificates, or export-control reviews connecting Morrisons to Israeli defence or security end-users; UK export-licensing sources reviewed concern other named UK exporters and licensees, not Morrisons ¹²³.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

No public evidence identified of Morrisons-owned equipment, vehicles, or machinery used in settlement construction, the separation barrier, or military installations. What is documented instead is settlement-linked agricultural produce sourcing rather than construction or military activity: in 2013, Morrisons own-brand Medjoul dates were found packaged in the West Bank settlement of Tomer, supplied via Hadiklaim, an Israeli date-growers’ cooperative, with Morrisons stating the dates “were packed in Tomer while an alternative site was found” and that future dates would be packed within Israel proper ⁴. A 2020 civil-society investigation documented continuing settlement-linked produce reaching Morrisons via the distributor Greenyard Fresh, including Galilee avocados and mangoes, Hadiklaim dates, Miriam Shoham pomegranates, and Barkan Israeli wine ⁵. In October 2024, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) sent legal notices to eight UK supermarkets, including Morrisons, alleging sale of settlement-origin dates, mangoes, avocados, tahini, halva, and bakery products sourced from suppliers Mehadrin and Miriam, citing possible director liability under UK criminal and proceeds-of-crime legislation and giving 14 days to respond ⁶. Morrisons has publicly stated that it does not source goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank, a position the company has attributed to commercial rather than political reasoning ⁷⁸. No public evidence identified of Morrisons construction or engineering contracts for checkpoints, detention facilities, military bases, the separation barrier, or settlement infrastructure.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

No public evidence identified of any component, sub-system, or manufacturing-services supply relationship between Morrisons and Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael, or IMI Systems/Elbit Land ⁹. No public evidence identified of joint development, co-production, or technology-transfer arrangements between Morrisons and Israeli defence firms. Morrisons’ private-equity parent, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, acquired Morrisons in 2021 ¹⁰, and CD&R separately holds a stake in Pursuit Aerospace, an aircraft-engine-components manufacturer formed with Greenbriar Equity Partners ¹¹. A direct review of CD&R’s Pursuit Aerospace portfolio page found no reference to Israel, F-15 aircraft, or the IDF, only a generic description of components for commercial and military aviation engines ¹²; a specific claim that this relationship involved F-15 nozzle seals with Israel as a Foreign Military Sales end-user could not be substantiated by any primary source and is treated here as unconfirmed. No public evidence identified of an Israel/IDF nexus for CD&R or Pursuit Aerospace beyond this unsubstantiated claim.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No public evidence identified of Morrisons catering, transport, fuel, waste-management, facilities, or telecommunications service contracts to IDF bases, training facilities, detention centres, or security installations in the West Bank, Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, or the Negev. No public evidence identified of Morrisons shipping, freight, or port-handling contracts servicing Israeli military cargo or arms shipments; the shipping and distribution relationships identified in this review, such as with Greenyard Fresh, relate to routine commercial food-distribution logistics rather than military cargo ⁵.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No public evidence identified of Morrisons involvement, as a prime contractor or licensed manufacturer, in small arms, artillery, armoured vehicles, drones, naval vessels, or other lethal platforms. No public evidence identified of Morrisons supplying munitions, ordnance, propellant, or warhead components. No public evidence identified of any Morrisons role in the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, or Arrow missile-defence systems, or in fighter aircraft, tanks, warships, or ballistic missile programmes. No public evidence identified of Morrisons involvement in guidance electronics, fire-control systems, radar, propulsion, or warhead-casing supply.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No public evidence identified of any UK, EU, or other jurisdiction export-licence grant, denial, suspension, or revocation naming Morrisons in connection with Israeli military or security end-users; the UK export-licensing sources reviewed, including a House of Commons Library briefing on UK arms exports to Israel, a GOV.UK announcement suspending around 30 arms-export licences to Israel over international humanitarian law concerns, and reporting on a licence for targeting equipment, all concern other UK exporters, not Morrisons ¹²³. No public evidence identified of any arms-embargo or sanctions-compliance investigation or enforcement action against Morrisons. The only identified legal action concerning Morrisons in this domain is the October 2024 ICJP notice regarding settlement-origin produce sales, which is a civil/regulatory-compliance matter rather than an arms-export or defence-sector legal proceeding, and No public evidence identified that this notice progressed to litigation ⁶.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

Morrisons has been named, alongside Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda, Lidl GB, and Marks & Spencer, in a long-running UK consumer boycott and BDS-aligned campaign focused on fresh produce from Israel and Israeli settlements and on settlement-linked brands such as Ahava, with campaign activity documented from the early 2010s through 2024 ^{7813141516176}. A “buycott” counter-campaign, organised in response to Palestine Solidarity Campaign pickets of Morrisons and Waitrose branches, was reported by the Jewish Chronicle ⁷. Local activist groups have also organised public information stalls specifically targeting Morrisons stores over Israeli-goods sourcing ¹⁸. Corporate Occupation’s 2013 and 2020 investigative reports are the most specific documented findings tying Morrisons own-brand products to a named West Bank settlement, Tomer, via a named supplier, Hadiklaim ⁴⁵. Morrisons’ documented public response has centred on produce-labelling and traceability assurances, including reference to random traceability checks on Israel-labelled produce, rather than any defence- or military-sector policy statement ⁷¹⁹. No public evidence identified of any Morrisons statement specific to military or security-sector supply chains. No public evidence identified that Morrisons, or its controlling principals, appear in the UN OHCHR database of business enterprises linked to Occupied Palestinian Territory settlement activity ²⁰²¹²², or in the UN Special Rapporteur’s 2025 report “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide” ²³. Morrisons Chief Executive Rami Baitiéh, appointed in November 2023, holds a reserve commission as a Colonel in the French Air and Space Force, a role unrelated to Israel, and No public evidence identified of any Israel, IDF, or defence-industry ties in his biography ²⁴²⁵. Sir Terry Leahy, associated with Morrisons following the CD&R buyout, has No public evidence identified of Israeli defence-board roles, defence-industry directorships, or related public statements ²⁶²⁷. Morrisons’ in-store artificial-intelligence deployments identified are shelf-monitoring camera systems supplied by the US-headquartered Focal Systems, with no Israel nexus identified ²⁸²⁹; a claimed partnership between Morrisons and the Israeli-founded computer-vision company Trigo could not be substantiated, as Trigo’s documented UK retail partner is Tesco, not Morrisons ³⁰. In any case, such shelf-monitoring and loss-prevention technology has no identified kinetic or targeting function.

End Notes