Bravo to Peace Now. Understanding the crisis that the new anti-democratic law in Israel represents, it has called on everyone to boycott settlement products. It has at last come out for boycott, of a limited nature. Will J Street follow? From JPost:
Speaking before a few dozen supporters outside the courthouse on Tuesday, former Meretz MK Mossi Raz said, “Last night, the Knesset passed one of the most dastardly laws in the history of the state of Israel ... the Knesset broke the tools of the Israeli democracy, and we must now use these broken tools in order to defend Israel’s democracy.”
Raz said that while Peace Now has never called for a boycott against the settlements, following the passing of the boycott law the organization “will call for a boycott of the settlements until the occupation is over and a Palestinian state is founded next to the state of Israel.”
From Peace Now's Facebook page:
By Tuesday afternoon Peace Now launched its "Boycott the Settlements Campaign" outside the Tel Aviv Law Courts, where we signed the public up to a petition and urged people not to buy products from the settlements – highlighting products like Psgot wines. The petition in Hebrew: http://www.atzuma.co.il/stopthesettelments
New Policy
Until today Peace Now has never boycotted or called upon people to boycott the settlements, we have always preferred to debate the issue with the public. However as soon as the Freedom of Speech has been violated and this right to debate has been taken away from us – the only option remaining is to go head to head with the extreme right and break the law immediately. Our campaign drew attention from all the national newspapers, and TV + media outlets. MK's began to deny they were the ones that supported the law, and the AG admitted he would have difficulty legally defending the law in court.
Bravo indeed
moving right along… a clash between the right and all that are left…. interesting to see how or if it resolves..
Great that the Israeli government has pushed a moderate movement like Peace Now closer to BDS. They’re on our side of the fence now, whether they like it or not :-)
And the goal is?
No Jewish state? No Israel?
That will get fought. Not by me personally, I’m a bit busy here but by my cousins in the settlements. They will resist ethnic cleansing! Hamas! Hamas!
Hi, TGIA. Good to see you!
The goal? Israeli compliance with international law. Your cousins (my somewhat-closer relations) on the settlements and off the settlements will fight that too (Hamas! Hamas!), but that would simply highlight how very much in the wrong they really are.
Hi Shmuel. I was paraphrasing R.Witty (except for the last sentence). He posted those exact words in a response to a post about BDS two days ago.
Will folks be boycotting in the Whole Foods parking lot? How many settlement products does Whole Foods sell?
Check this out
link to youtube.com
My oldest is a teacher in Boulder…most of the folks there do not make the time or have the interest about how their taxes support apartheid. Got to get to their hot yoga Buddhist contemplative knitting classes.
Going home with their “six items for 80 dollars”
the whole foods image isn’t apartheid. we need to change that.
Have any idea how many settlement products they carry? Would be a great focus
As eee would say “time for a flash mob” (can not believe I am quoting eee…but hey what ever works to get attention on these critical issues
Calling Move over Aipac..
link to youtube.com
Kathleen,
That is the spirit, keep it up.
What eee?
Where is your usual refrain and ridicule that BDS is going nowhere fast?
I shop a wholefoods sometimes if I’ve missed the local farmer’s market and I’ve recently actually encountered a young aggressive israeli hasbara-humus pusher in wholefoods trying to get people to buy a new israeli brand (The Humus Bar, made locally in Tarzana, LA). The hasbarado with thick israeli accent tried to get me to buy a tub telling me: “It’s israeli, try it, it tastes better than the Wholefood brand, really”. Well I couldn’t believe it and replied that I preferred my humus without Apartheid and preservatives and walked away, straight to customer services to tell a manager. The manager looked concerned at the aggressive (backstabbing) sales tactic and told me he would have this rogue salesperson removed from their floor. I made reference to Apartheid products being unacceptable on their shelves and he told me he would pass my concerns to his supervisors.
I didn’t follow up on it from there but yeah – wholefoods should be targeted for their green hypocrisy.
“I didn’t follow up on it from there but yeah – wholefoods should be targeted for their green hypocrisy.”
Maybe you should be targeted for hypocrisy. Did you ask the manager to remove Chinese products as well in protest of their dictatorship, suppression of free speech, occupation of Tibet, and support of North Korea?
So, is it made in Israel or made in California?
tokyobk,
It was explained to me as “israeli humus” made by a “local Tarzana company”. I’m pretty sure the owner is an israeli-american dual citizen, Tarzana being an upper-middle class jewish neighborhood.
Hophi,
LOL you’re upset – and no I ain’t responding to your moronic post.
“It’s israeli, try it, it tastes better than the Wholefood brand, really”
Homphi, you really shouldn’t undermine the quality of the store products in a market where you are allowed to promote and sell samples. Saying that their product is better than the store, which allows you an opportunity to promote you product, is not a good business alliance. Are you that dumb that you cant see this? No one is blaming China.
And so the moral imperative to boycott this product is, certainly not that it was made by/for upper middle class Jews, right?
Because the company has an Israeli owner?
Yes tokyobk. Personally, I boycott EVERYTHING israeli – have done so since the 1980′s.
“Well I couldn’t believe it and replied that I preferred my humus without Apartheid”
Hilarious!
Hopmi…
I guess you ask the manager to remove Chinese products as well in protest of their dictatorship, suppression of free speech, occupation of Tibet, and support of North Korea? Bravo….. Say…. has it done anything to stop Israel’s illegal activities?
Trader Joe’s sells settlement products. And in my neck of the woods, they now sell this really weird tasting Kosher meat, meaning half the packaging is about it’s being kosher. It is also the worst tasting stuff I’ve tasted in a while. You think you’re eating “grass-fed” but it is not properly cured.
I can’t buy the stuff anymore. I think of Postville everytime I look at it. (Postville, for you overseas readers, is small-town Postville, OH. it was the scene of the worse meat scandal. An abattoir run by orthodox Jews from Brooklyn who butchered diseased cows, and sold the meat nationwide The photos of them them dragging crippled and sick cows by a rope around the neck, the filthy conditions of the entire operation, the lack of sanitary conditions in the actual slaughterhouse with caked blood on the walls, the vermin droppings, the bacteria found in the meat, the health violations were off the charts. It was shut down, the Brooklyn rabbis who ran it were fined millions, think a couple went to jail, and the orthodox community blamed anti-semitism, ‘natch. You can google.)
Rubashkin? If it’s the same one, it has its very own section heading over at “Failed Messiah” blog. Weird, whacko, the lot!
That was Postville, Iowa, not Ohio, about 70 miles from my house.
Ten or so years ago I went there for a food festival–at the time the town, pop. c. 3000, was fairly evenly divided between lubavitchers, hispanics, russians, and the local norwiegian lutherans. An interesting mix for rural Iowa.
There is a great book on Postville and its cultural conflicts by a journalism prof at the Univ. of Iowa–
link to amazon.com
It has nothing to do with I-P, but interesting nonetheless.
MRW, What does kosher food have to do the issue here? Did the kosher meat originate in the settlements? In Israel?
And don’t forget the alleged meth operation within AgriProcessors.
How strange would it be to the locals in Potsville to see a
Mitzvah tank full of Chabads.
Here’s some of the cruelty to witness.
link to peta.org
Jon, where were you when we had this article?
chaos, there’s a possibility jon might be more interested in why mrw is going ot than israel’s treatment of palestinian children.
Kathleen, “yoga Buddhist contemplative knitting classes” are both idealistic AND anti-semitic. And yet, in some mysterious way, they are also both principled and fascistic.
I hope this helps clarify things.
wow, way to challenge the new draconian law. this is amazing and swift. bravo!
And the Mondo mondo helped push Peace When?
link to mondoweiss.net
And the Mondo mondo helped push Peace When?
Credit where credit is due and criticism where criticism is deserved. For the record, Mossi Raz still thinks he is defending “Israeli democracy”, and that a law aimed primarily at left-wing activists and organisations in Israel (i.e. Peace now and its friends) is “one of the most dastardly laws in the history of the state of Israel”.
Kudos for the brave stand on the settlement boycott (or “targeted BDS”, as Jerry Haber likes to call it), but let’s not get carried away here.
Another piece of evidence that Firedoglake does not consider the I/P conflict a critical enough issue to front page it.
Check out their subtitles down the side
Middle East Popular Uprisings
Coverage of protests in Libya, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt and more
Not even a mention of Palestinian protest
then go to the link and see what is listed about protest etc. Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya. Not one link to the efforts of Ed Teller (Phillip Munger or C Tuttle over there on that page) No one can tell me there are not serious roadblocks over at FDL still in place to keep this issue in a corner
link to firedoglake.com
link to fdlaction.firedoglake.com
Don’t frontpage diaries on FDL get there by reader recommendations? FDL is primarly devoted to domestic political issues such as SS, medicare, medicaid, taxes, and rightfully bashing the narcissistic lowlife known as Obama. It just has a different focus than this blog.
I’ve never seen any particularly pro-Israeli slant to FDL, more just a focus on those domestic issues. But there are certainly diaries on I-P on occasion and those diaries are staunchly pro-Palestinian and both the diaries and the comments could easily be posted on Mondoweiss.
I have never seen a hasbara-type diary, and even fewer hasbara-type comments on FDL than I see on Mondoweiss.
Pineywoodslim Clearly you did not look at what I was pointing out. On Firedoglake’s front page when you run down the side list different topics. One is
“Middle East Popular Uprisings
Coverage of protests in Libya, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt and more”
NOT EVEN A MENTION HERE ABOUT PALESTINIAN PROTEST
When you go to that link there are a variety of post about “Middle East Popular Uprisings”
link to firedoglake.com
NOT ONE POST ABOUT PALESTINIAN PROTEST. NOT ONE
The law passed in the Knesset yesterday is another blow to democracy in Israel, and it sure pulls the rug out from under people (such as yours truly) who have called for a boycott of the settlements while opposing bds. More anti-democratic legislation is in the works.
Israel has its finger on the slow-burn self-destruct button. I think its why I get so riled up to see people defending the indefensible, probably why others do too. Is this a game changer?
I guess ‘tough’ Israel, is going to have to go-it-alone.
with their new democratic ways. This gives Obama a
chance for wiggle room away from his nemesis.
You sound surprised. The rest of us aren’t.
Some people may wonder why I am so different than other evangelicals. The reason was I was looking to see how free Israel really was and which narrative was true. Back in the 1980s just after the Marine barracks bombing I talked with the missionary Ralph Winters. He had just returned from the Middle East. He told me that Israel was one of the least free countries he had ever visited and by contrast the Palestinians were much more open. When I visited Israel and the West Bank this year I found Ralph’s and not the “official” narrative was true.
The 1980s are instructive to us here. Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were very opposed to any kind of sanctions for South Africa. It was civil society including Christian churches that filled the gap. Eventually our government reluctantly followed after boycotts and public awareness became more and more effective. These boycotts were not merely against the Afrikaner farmers but anything the South African government touched. At the same time Ronald Reagan was against the South African boycotts he was also against the illegal settlements in Israel as the reason there wasn’t peace.
While some of us have seen Israel as being anti-democratic for decades now even Israel’s supporters are predicting more anti-democratic, even fascist, legislation. Based upon the history of boycotts, and the history of the intransigent anti-democratic nature of the state of Israel, and the failure of our government to control the illegal settlements, all boycotts, divestment, and sanctions should be directed against the state of Israel and not merely the settlers. Our government has failed us and we as civil society and people of faith must take up the mantle and cry “Freedom!”.
richb,
I really dig your truth-seeking sensibilities. And I appreciate you sharing your version of evangelism and it’s role in world affairs here on Mondo. Very enlightening posts, richb. You’ve actually changed my mind about the evangelical movement – I mean to say because of you, I’ve stopped recoiling at the mere mention of the word ‘evangelical’. Now I can listen without prejudice, giving the benefit of the doubt before judgement.
Yap. Turns out that not ALL evangelicals are certifiably nuts!
Thanks for demonstrating this, richb.
Thank you for your kind words. In the interest of full disclosure I should note that I appear to be an extremely rare bird. This has helped me relate to our Jewish friends here. Like me, they are trying to redeem and reform their community even when they are rowing very much uphill. I also relate to the slander from within your own community. As David said in Psalm 41:9: “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” David continues, “I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever. ” More than anything else that’s what I notice is the integrity here and I am honored to be in your company.
Shalom Chaverim
the very first “settlement product” we should boycott is the Israeli government. I don’t know why “Peace Now” does not understand that. If they really are sincere in wanting to end the Occupation, then they must call for an end to unconditional support for the Israeli govt, that gives millions to settlements. Peace Now is one of the most generous supporters of the settlements as long as it continues to support unconditional aid to Israel.
The Israel gov’t is finished unless they start changing their ways. We’re all sick of their shit, and more often I am hearing the same level of criticism from people who in the past would say little about the state.
The problem for Israel is their struggle in the Mid-East has defined their position for decades. Their militant Zionism is what unites them nationally.
And by now, that most states become an integral partner of their surrounding neighborhood, But Israel does not. They are fed guns from America and they lack the creative skills to integrate based on their conditioned racism.
Considering the barrage of racist and anti-democratic legislations being proposed in Israel this last year, the furor over this latest travesty kinda suprises me.
I mean hey, with Israel targeting American citizens engaged in peaceful protest, attacking ships in international waters, shooting farmers and fisherman attempting to legally support themselves, expanding settlements at an accelerated rate, raining white phosphorous on women and children, yadayadayada….
Particularly comical is the protestations of those that ignore gross abuses and attrocities committed against the Palestinians, yet are now attempting to gain the high moral ground by decrying this latest anti-democratic Israeli dingleberry of legislative excrement.
Steve Clemons comes to mind, posting from his new tabloid position at the Atlantic. Ignoring ISR/PAL, and the epic developments of the last two years that has seen Palestinians shat upon by Israel with impunity, and our President’s face lathered with Netanyahu’s fetid spittle, all the sudden Clemons is overcome with pessimism about Israel’s future as a “democracy”. But, he assures us, he still sees Israel as a beacon of democratic values, and a valuable ally. I guess all they need do is repeal or defeat this latest shameful bit of anti-democratic legislation, and they can get right back to frying them heathen Arabs in white phosphorous, in the finest display of democratic values and deep respect for human rights.
hey poa – sorry about the fallout at the w note with you and steve… steve is too busy sucking at a particular tit to be able to comment openly on a lot of stuff… i think his site died when you got axed…
Agree. Although Steve is accessible if you contact him directly. Clearly he is climbing a ladder. I have challenged him directly asking him to bring up the I/P issue in an honest way when he makes his rounds on Rachel Maddows, Chris Matthews etc. He claims he does. I have heard him do this once. Clemons is generally a reasonable person (do not agree with him booting Poa) so keep pushing him. He does have an open ear.
Keep pushing the ladder climbers and those near the top of the MSM’s ladders. Rachel Maddow is one of the worst sell outs. She tries to paint a picture of herself as some civil rights diva. If the issue is gay rights she is all over it. That would be it.
Glad you are here
I don’t get this business of limiting the boycott to the settlements products only. It’s like protesting China’s occupation of Tibet by boycotting those Chinese goods produced in Tibet only!
“….i think his site died when you got axed….”
Naaaaahh. His site was dead months before, when it became obvious he’d sold out his own character for career advancement.
I got axed for noticing.
Good for those guys……..
Personally, I think Israeli Hummus sucks. My boycott is really not very principled.
Someone mentioned Rachel Maddow……..she’s even worse than Israeli Hummus. Ive mentioned this before, but during the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, she made special mention of a hospital ship the Israeli’s sent to Haiti, and barely able to contain her glee/pride she goes ” Because THAT IS WHAT ISRAEL DOES!!!” And ive never tuned in since…..