Boycott = anti-Semitism? Some Israelis avoid settlement products, tooThere are no official figures, but probably thousands of Israeli consumers check the labels before they buy.
Long before Scarlett Johansson came under international fire for promoting the West Bank SodaStream factory, these Israelis were getting their seltzer elsewhere.
And long before world Jewish leaders pronounced the international boycott movement anti-Semitism in its latest manifestation , these Israelis steered clear of products sold by Jewish-owned businesses located beyond the country’s internationally recognized borders. [sic]
It’s hard to know their exact numbers, but they are boycotters too, many for as long as they can remember: These Israelis do not, as a matter of principle, buy goods or produce from Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.Here is a classic example where Haaretz is reporting what it sincerely hopes to be true rather than what is true.
Vardit Shalfy, a theater director from Tel Aviv, not only checks every label carefully when she does her own supermarket shopping, but she also makes a point of alerting other customers who might not be aware that what they’re throwing into their carts was made in contested territory. “I’m absolutely shameless about it,” she acknowledges, “and very often, I get people to return products to the shelves. They simply didn’t know until I told them that what they were about to buy was made in the settlements and that by buying it they are supporting the occupation. Once, a woman almost smacked me, but more often than not, people listen.”
If she’s invited to an event where food is being served, says Shalfy, she has no qualms about calling over the chef to ascertain where exactly the ingredients in each dish came from. At the home of an acquaintance, she recounts, she once noticed her daughter innocently take a bite out of a cookie made by a factory in the East Jerusalem industrial park of Atarot. “I pulled it out of her mouth and reminded her that we don’t eat such things,” she says.
Netta Hazan, a facilitator for interfaith groups who lives in Jerusalem, admits she doesn’t take things that far. “I’m not going to lie and say that I check every label, and it’s not that I never drank something made with SodaStream, but if I know something’s made in a Jewish settlement, I won’t buy it,” she says. “On the other hand, I do make a point of buying things in Bethlehem in order to support the Palestinian economy.”
...Adam Keller, the spokesman of Gush Shalom, estimates that “tens of thousands” of Israelis who oppose the occupation boycott products from the settlements. “I’m basing that on the number of people who downloaded the list from our site when it was still up and the number who’ve signed up to receive our pamphlets,” he said.
...Longtime peace activist Naftali Raz...puts the number of Israelis who boycott products from the settlements at “many thousands.”
When lists of "settlement" products are offered, I download them myself. Why? So I can make sure that I buy from them! And I'm sure that many other people do the same thing.
I'm also certain that many, if not most, of those who download such lists don't live in Israel to begin with.
In other words, while there are certainly some fanatics who go out of their way to ensure that not a crumb of Jewish-made food from across the Green Line passes their lips, saying that there are "probably thousands" is nothing but a myth that Haaretz believes (and that the people they interview want to promulgate) - because Haaretz still thinks that it represents more than a tiny minority of ultra leftists.
Just for fun, imagine one of these uber-liberal parties. Imagine what would happen if one of the guests badgered the chef about whether he bought kosher ingredients and prepared the food according to Jewish law. Imagine the reaction if the guest would loudly announce "I will never eat food that is not kosher!"
Just think how upset the guests would be, how embarrassed that one of their friends would dare embarrass them this way, with such an uncivil display of self-righteousness. How gauche!
That person would never be invited to another party, that's for sure.
Of course, Muslim guests who insist on eating Halal would be admired for being true to their culture.
(h/t Alex)