Stand With Us is having a shop-Israel-day on November 30. They are asking people to go to their local stores and buy some Israeli items. I think I speak for all Jewlicious writers in supporting this action. The stores that carry Israeli products are coming under pressure from groups seeking to influence them. This is relatively easy to do since even a small group of protesters or protests can influence a store to drop a line of products. After all, who needs the hassle?

One obvious response is to make it worth their while to carry Israeli products. This shows that those encouraging a boycott are in the minority and it also exemplifies that it’s simply good business, not only moral business, to carry Israeli goods.

So please go out and buy some Israeli products. Today, tomorrow, on November 30. Whenever you have a chance.

Here’s part of the Stand With Us message:

On Tuesday, November 30, anti-Israel activists in New York City plan to demonstrate and call for boycotts of stores that sell Israeli products. Their target is Ricky’s because it carries Ahava goods. But this action in New York is just one of many. Boycotters have been energetically lobbying other stores across the country to drop Israeli products, from local co-ops to Costco and Trader Joe’s.

The pro-Israel, pro-peace community urges you to join a counter campaign. We are making November 30 a BIG (Buy Israeli Goods) Day. Let us show anyone that calls for boycotts of even one or two stores, that it will always be met with a much larger counter-movement to buy Israeli goods.

StandWithUs and the America-Israel Chambers of Commerce calls on schools, college campuses, synagogues, community organizations, and individuals to designate Tuesday, November 30, as the day to actively Buy Israeli Goods. Go to your local stores and request Israeli products. Whenever a boycott is called, respond by purchasing the very Israeli goods that are being targeted and let store managers know they should keep them well-stocked on the shelves.

The holiday season is fast approaching. When you go holiday shopping, choose presents from the wonderful array of Israeli-made items, from fine Israeli wines to the high quality Ahava beauty products, Israeli jewelry, shoes and clothing lines, and of course, food. Select Sabra or Tribe hummus, great Israeli wines and Osem cookies to grace your holiday party.

UPDATE: I am including all products made in the Land of Israel, and these include products made by Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria/West Bank. There is no distinction between these goods.

I believe that if there will be peace, Israel will relinquish about 96% of the West Bank and many of the Jewish communities there will have to leave or become part of the new Palestine (to date, the Palestinians reject this possibility entirely).

However, until that day, every Israeli who lives in Judea and Samaria is living on DISPUTED land, with the support and encouragement of every Israeli government since 1967. In other words, they are not rogues or criminals and many of us recognize that while there are extremists among them, the majority of the settlers are good people who have chosen to live where they do for a variety of reasons, many of them idealistic and with a view to supporting Israel.

Or you could shop at Tiffany’s and forget about folks in Israel. Or if you’re in Canada I guess you could shop at your local Birks jewellery stores.

About the author

themiddle

9 Comments

  • But let’s be totally clear: are you saying go ahead and also buy products made in the Occupied Territories? (like Ahava products).

    If yes, then are you considering that your actions are promoting continued occupation?
    If yes to that, then what do you imagine happening in Israel/Palestine in the next 3-5-10 years – will the Palestinians simply vanish, packing their bags to Jordan? If not, then either:

    1. Israel will lose its democratic character, by not granting West Bank Palestinians full rights, like the right to vote in Israeli elections.
    or
    2. Israel will lose it’s Jewish character, because eventually Palestinians within “Greater israel” will outnumber Jews.

    So…do you REALLY want to buy products like Ahava, made in the Occupied Territories?

    Where is this Titanic headed??

    • I absolutely encourage you to buy all products made by Israelis, whether they live in Israel or in Judea and Samaria, named the West Bank by its Jordanian occupiers who also renamed their country Jordan instead of TransJordan because of their attempt to annex this territory.

      Supporting Israeli products from the Golan, the West Bank/Judea and Samaria has absolutely nothing to do with the peace process. The peace process is a political and diplomatic issue that requires two parties. If the Palestinians wanted to have peace, there could be peace and two states already and nobody would be talking about boycotts. Since the Palestinians prefer to play games like avoiding negotiations and declaring the Western Wall a Muslim edifice that has no connection to the Jewish people, we don’t have peace. In the meantime, the Israelis who live in these areas have every right to live on this disputed land, to work there, to earn a living and to live peacefully.

      If you want to stop this Titanic, Herb, why don’t you and all the other supporters of boycotts against Israel use all of the Palestinian goodwill your extensive pro-Palestinian activities have earned the collective lot of you AND BERATE THE PALESTINIANS FOR NEGATING THE HISTORICAL JEWISH CONNECTION TO ISRAEL AND FOR NOT NEGOTIATING A PEACE AGREEMENT IN GOOD FAITH.

      And while you do that, also go shopping for some Israeli products.

  • The buycott is exactly what we are talking about.

    And furthermore, I think it’s time to turn the tables on the leaders of the boycotts.

  • A rising tide lifts all ships. When the economy of Israel grows, the standard of living of the Israeli Arabs also grow. This is one of the reasons an economic boycott is so misguided. Buying Ahava products benefits all the inhabitants of the region