Boycott the boycotters; buy Israel

Letters

Editor: Every day, we Jews in the Diaspora simmer with rage and frustration, reading and watching the one-sided news reports of the situation in Israel. We feel constantly on the defensive, responding in our work places and elsewhere to the ill-informed verbal assaults on Israel. We struggle for ways to help Israel.

Well, it's time to fight back by putting our spending dollars to work. There are about 13 million Jews worldwide. Our purchasing power is considerable. And we must exert that economic clout both in where we choose to spend our money and where we choose not to.

First, we must buy Israeli whenever we can. The Internet is a valuable resource to help locate Israeli products.

Second, we must not spend a cent in countries which have demonstrated anti-Semitism and hostility to Israel – starting with the countries of the European Union. We must not buy any products manufactured in Europe, and we must not spend our vacation dollars travelling there.

Europe, which pioneered anti-Semitism, is eagerly shedding its post-Holocaust sense of guilt to reveal its anti-Semitism, newly invigorated, sometimes under the guise of anti-Zionism but, increasingly, as pure hatred against Jews. Amid a growing wave of anti-Semitic violence, Avi Becker, the secretary general of the World Jewish Congress, described the attacks as "the worst anti-Semitic days in the history of Europe since the Second World War." Recent articles by gutsy Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci sets out in stark terms the ugly face of European anti-Semitism today.

And the examples of anti-Semitism at the state level are equally disturbing.

Recently, the French ambassador to the United Kingdom referred to Israel as, "that shitty little country." In a non-binding vote, the European Union's parliament in Strasbourg voted to impose trade sanctions and suspend all trade agreements with Israel. The Council of Europe, representing 44 nations, is also calling for sanctions. The UN Human Rights Commissions passed a motion, supported by Austria, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, calling for the use of "all available means, including armed struggle to establish a Palestinian state." In other words, these countries have endorsed the use of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.

The Norwegian labor federation announced a boycott of all goods from Israel. A Norwegian supermarket chain, Coop, has threatened to remove Israeli products from its shelves. The Belgians have also threatened an embargo on the diamond trade with Israel. And a growing number of Israel manufacturers have received requests from foreign buyers to remove "Made in Israel" labels.

One need not look too far back in history for other examples of European hostility to Israel. Following the Six Day War, Europe embargoed the sale of arms to Israel. Then, during the Yom Kippur War, the Europeans refused to permit American planes to land and refuel en route to re-supply the Israeli army which was desperately fighting for Israel's survival.

So remember: Seek out Israeli products to buy and don't spend your hard-earned dollars to support countries hostile to Israel and to Jews.

No more French wine. No more Norwegian lox. No more high-priced German cars manufactured by companies that worked hand in glove with the Nazis during the Second World War. And no more European vacations in lieu of trips to Israel. We must not only spend our dollars strategically, we must also publicize the fact by writing to importers and retailers, as well as to European embassies and consulates to tell them what we are doing, and why, and that we will continue doing so until they employ a more balanced approach to Israel and they crack down on anti-Semitism in all its manifestations.

Fred Tischler
Vancouver

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