Imad is a manufacturer of soap and detergents in Bethlehem. His products used to be labeled in Hebrew but in a fit of patriotism he replaced all the labels with Arabic-only labels.Once again we see the huge disconnect between how the Israel-haters claim that Palestinian Arabs support boycotting Israeli goods - and how actual, real Palestinian Arabs act in the exact opposite way.
And his sales plummeted.
Imad says: "I get frustrated when a customer comes to me, asking: 'Where's the Israeli soap?' All this time they are thinking the producers and manufacturers of these products they consume in their homes are Israelil this is really frustrating."
Imad says his products are much less expensive than their Israeli counterparts.
"I am surprised of the Palestinian consumer, who deals with the products only by their source, and is ready to buy expensive Israeli products but does not even consider our own national product that is sold at reasonable prices."
Some Palestinians prefer Israeli products, thinking they are the best. People say there are clear distinctions between the Israeli and Palestinian products in terms of quality. Many say that they buy Israeli because Israeli factories are subject to strict quality control by the government, so they trust them more than the Palestinian products.
Economic analyst Khalil Assali says that despite the growing awareness among the Palestinian public of the importance of relying on domestic products during the past few years, some prefer Israeli products mostly because consumers have gotten used to the idea that the Palestinian goods are not as high quality. They also are skeptical of the lower-priced Arab goods, thinking they must be inferior.
The economic ministry has over the past years launched several campaigns to boycott Israeli products and to choose local goods instead.
The estimated proportion of Israeli goods in the Palestinian market, according to the latest survey of the Ministry of the Economy, is about eighty per cent compared to eight to ten percent for local products in Palestinian markets.
And it is not because they are forced to, as some anti-Zionist idiots like to pretend. They want to buy Israeli, and it is the BDSers and their Israel-hating supporters who are acting against their wishes - and interests.