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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Victoria's Secret, BDS, Israel, Union Square: How can you not click this?

From NY Blueprint, yesterday:
"Do you like sexy panties? Then don't boycott Israel." So say the T-shirts worn by activists canvassing Union Square Park and handing out care packages of Israeli manufactured products including Victoria Secret panties today between 1-4pm in Union Square Park near NYU. It is a humorous way of drawing attention to the serious problems caused by the movement to boycott Israel, says the Birthright Israel Alumni Community who is organizing the "Kiss my BDS" event, problems for both innocent Israelis and American consumers most of whom have no idea of the many links between the two economies. These kind of unreasoning attacks on Israel only hurt America - American companies, American super markets, even in American lingerie drawers.

Today (March 30th) to counter the international anti-Israel "BDS Day" (Boycott, Divest, Sanction), sexy Israel supporters will be handing out Victoria's Secret panties in Union Square Park. (Victoria's Secret is on the boycott list.)
As much as I tried,I could not find photos of this important event. Sorry.

However, a blog called Jewish FAIL claims:
After receiving fabric from Israel, the undergarments are actually made by Palestinian women and foreign workers in Jordan who toil under brutal, intolerable conditions and then sew “Made in Israel” tags onto their work. The underwear is then returned to Israel, which exports it to the U.S. Yay, exploited labor masquerading as economic cooperation!
Damn, she's exploiting poor Jordanians!
The NYT article they point to to prove that the panties are made in Jordan is dated...1996. It seems possible, but not certain, that the lingerie is still being made in Jordan for Israeli companies. Ha'aretz reported more recently about "sweatshops" in Jordanian factories owned and used by Israeli companies.

So BDSers are boycotting Victoria's Secret, but others are complaining that Israel doesn't really make the products. I guess it is a second-level boycott.

Jordan, the nation that actually allows the sweatshops, somehow isn't blamed for any of this by anyone. Because, of course, the enlightened leftists who are so keen to complain about Israel and Victoria's Secret don't have very high moral expectations from mere Arabs.