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November 15, 2002
Holy Land in Vancouver
Locals have a chance to support Israel's economy.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
Israel's economy will get a boost this month when the Jewish Community
Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCC) becomes a store-away-from-home
for Israeli merchants.
During Shop in Israel, on the evening of Nov. 23 and all day Nov.
24, local shoppers will have the chance to wander the JCC and spend
their dollars of support on a wide variety of products that are
made in Israel and being sold on behalf of Israeli vendors.
From T-shirts to jewelry, art, Judaica, books, olive wood products
and ceramics, the local Jewish community will have plenty to chose
from for the sake of supporting Israel.
Since the start of the current intifada just over two years ago,
tourism in Israel has slowed to a snail's pace, leaving many small
businesses starving for customers and others forced to close up
shop.
Many pleas have been made to Jews throughout the Diaspora to ignore
the threats of suicide attacks and violence and visit Israel, if
only to support the struggling economic status of its people. Some
have made the trip, spending all that they could at Israel's many
merchants. Others, though sincere in their desire to support Israel,
have not been able to visit the Middle Eastern hot spot.
Dale Weiss lives in Israel and, on behalf of the Coalition for Jewish
Concerns-Amcha, helped find Israeli merchants interested in participating
in the Shop Israel program, which will visit more than 40 different
Jewish communities across North America.
She said she didn't know any of the vendors personally before she
started working on this project. But it wasn't hard to find willing
participants.
"I travelled from my home in Herzliyya to the Ben Yehuda Street
neighborhood in Jerusalem and started going from store to store,
speaking with the shopkeepers and telling them about what we were
trying to do. Within a few days, I had 20 vendors," she said.
"Once the word got out that these fairs would take place, I
received calls from all parts of Israel with requests to include
other artists and vendors."
Weiss said there is a strong sense of relief among the Israelis
who are aware of the Shop Israel program.
"Many vendors have expressed to me that they never realized
how much American and Canadian Jews really cared about them until
they started participating in the fairs," she said. "No
one believes that these fairs are anything more than a short-term
solution. But they are helping Israeli merchants and artists keep
their stores and feed their families, at least for the present."
Only products made in Israel will be available and 100 per cent
of the proceeds will go directly to the merchants.
Official sponsors of the Vancouver event to date include the Israel
Action Committee, the Jewish Western Bulletin, the Jewish
Federation of Greater Vancouver, the Jewish Community Centre of
Greater Vancouver the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver,
and the State of Israel Economic Mission to Canada.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Cory Bretz at the
Jewish Federation office at 604-257-5100.
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