Woolworths chief executive Ian Moir announced on Thursday that the retailer is collaborating on the “Are you With Us?” campaign with US musician, producer and philanthropist Pharrell Williams across a series of sustainability-focused projects.Education, recycling, and helping young entertainers? Who can be against this?
The campaign has four layers: pure entertainment, showcasing young talent, fundraising for education, and driving sustainable fashion.
The global superstar will be putting on a private concert for 5 000 Woolworths customers. Woolworths W Rewards, Credit and MySchool cardholders could win a ticket to an exclusive, one-night-only performance in September.
Moir expressed his desire for Williams to spend some time at some of the country’s schools who are recipients of the funds generated when customers swipe their MySchool cards. It ties in with the “Sing with Us” initiative, where school singing groups will be given the opportunity to perform live alongside Williams during his one-night-only concert. Entrants will be shortlisted and chosen personally by the musician.
Williams and MySchool will also be calling on customers to help the brand raise R100-million for schools in need across the country through swiping their MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet cards.
The brand will also be collaborating with Bionic Yarn, a company with creates fabric out of recycled plastic waste, to create a range of limited edition, sustainable T-shirts. According to the press statement, design students are invited to create and submit designs for these T-shirts from which Williams will select his favourite designs, which will then be produced and sold at Woolworths stores. Winners will each receive R25 000 in prize money.
BDSers. that's who.
Apparently Woolworth's sells some Israeli goods. And that is enough to make the BDS crowd livid.
To make matters worse, Williams is playing a concert in Israel in coming weeks.
Now, BDS South Africa has turned Woolworth's into the enemy.
This scene was apparently done throughout stores last weekend:
A GROUP of Young Communist League (YCL) members ambushed Woolworths Shelly Beach on Saturday morning in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement and the “Boycott Woolworths” campaign.They plan to make the biggest protest against an artist in South African history when he gives his free concert. All the good he is doing is meaningless next to his peripheral involvement with Israel.
The global campaign is aimed at increasing economic and political pressure on Israel to comply with the goals by the movement - the end of Israeli occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land, total equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and respect for the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
The group entered Woolworths Shelly Beach as normal shoppers, filled their trolleys and then headed to the tills where they told cashiers they refuse to pay for items that are made in Israel.
Fortunately, the Woolworths manager and security personnel acted fast and asked them to leave.
That's crazy. But it is only the beginning.
Here's another example of how much South Africa hates Israel:
From Eyewitness News (South Africa):The African National Congress (ANC) is reported to be reviewing South Africa's dual citizenship policy in a bid to stop South African citizens from taking up arms for the Israeli military.Because a tiny minority of South Africans hold dual citizenship with Israel, the ANC wants to abolish dual citizenship altogether.
The Sunday Times newspaper is reporting that ANC also wants to crackdown on private sector ties with Israel.
However, this move would also affect others, who hold dual citizenship with countries besides the Jewish state.
The issue to ban dual citizenship was apparently discussed at the ruling party’s July lekgotla and will come up again next month at its national general council.
The head of the ANC'd National Executive Committee on International Relations, Obed Bapela, told the newspaper that they were assessing whether the world still needs the model of dual citizenship.
Immigration lawyers are however opposed to the idea saying it smacks of political grandstanding.
The proposition has also drawn sharp criticism from the South African Jewish Board of Deputies which has accused the ANC of becoming openly hostile to South Africa/Jewish citizens.
How crazy is that?
Now, one of the leading BDS advocates in SA has abandoned all pretense of opposing violence:
We already know that hate is irrational.And there is no hate more irrational than antisemitism, even when it is disguised as "anti-Zionism."