Good coverage in the Forward, written by Joy Resmovits, of the Ahava boycott, which is led by Code Pink, which targets Ricky’s, Brooklyn store, which sells Ahava cosmetics, which steals Palestinian minerals in the occupied West Bank, which beat the dog, which bit the kid that my father bought for two zuzim. That’s a Jewish joke. Sorry. From a Passover song. Because my new theme here is to pound not just the Jewish establishment, but rank and file liberal Jews who support the occupation. Like the flock of Brooklyn Rabbi Andy Bachman, who urges people to buy from Ricky’s. Flock, tell me, if your rabbi really wants two states, he should be pushing Israel out of the longest occupation in recent history, right? (And not just leading demonstrations about Darfur. Darfur Jews, finding a place to stand up for human rights. Charity begins at home.) And there’s this in the piece:
Hindy Poupko, director of Israel and international affairs for the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York — which sent a 15,000-signature letter to Ricky’s CEO Dominick Costello asking him to keep selling Ahava — said Ricky’s assured her that the store won’t take Ahava off its shelves.
Again I say that AIPAC is representative, just as those 15,000 signatures are representative of the NY Jewish community, which tends strongly to be pro-settlements. No wonder J Street does not condemn the settlements as illegal, let alone endorses even mild forms of boycott.
P.S. Rabbi Bachman, I have been told that the map in your Hebrew school does not distinguish between the Occupied Territories and Israel proper. Is this true? Was it true a year ago?
