Boycotting products etc from Israel to help stop the genocide in Palestine 2024

[Spymaster]

I'm pretty skeptical about consumer actions ...

One that did work was against Barclays in the 80s and getting them to pull out of South Africa. That was a different matter though because it was a British company that was targeted and also by some high profile people and companies, so the actions had an immediately damaging effect.

 

[Favelado]

Boycotts like this do nothing to change the politics in Israel though. It's just a way to make people to feel they're doing something. There's nothing wrong with that but in terms of political effectivness it's pretty sterile. My dad used to boycot Israeli and South African products. I'd take the mick because back in the 70s and 80s the only stuff to come out of those countries were Jaffa oranges and the occasional tin of fruit, so boycotting them was a piece of piss. Israel is still easy for people to exclude without really having to do much. To maintain any kind of consistency you'd need to boycott the US too, but that'd impact on people's computers and smartphones which is a completely different proposal.

If I were to boycott states whose regimes stink, China, Iran and Russia would top that list, closely followed by the rest of the arab states and pretty much any country with "stan" on the end of its name. And that's without considering African states like Chad, Guinea, and Burundi.

• South African boycotts and associated controversies had an impact. They were often in the news provoking debate about the Apartheid regime. Everything from Sun City to cricket tours made it onto the BBC 6 o' clock news in the UK in the 80s and kept SA in the public eye week-to-week.
• The BDS movement has let to companies pulling out of Israel and has had some degree of impact on the Israeli economy. They claim tht Veolia, G4S, Orange, General Mills, and CRH have all left the Israeli market due to pressure from boycott campaigns. Some of those companies lost billions in contracts. Israel's largest agricultural company, Carmel Agrexco, entered liquidation after a boycott campaign. So maybe a dates and Jaffa orange boycott not so daft after all.
• Your final point is 'If I were to do anything I would'. But you're not going to do anything at all. So just a nice little daydream for you.

 

[Spymaster]

• South African boycotts and associated controversies had an impact. They were often in the news provoking debate about the Apartheid regime. Everything from Sun City to cricket tours made it onto the BBC 6 o' clock news in the UK in the 80s and kept SA in the public eye week-to-week.
• The BDS movement has let to companies pulling out of Israel and has had some degree of impact on the Israeli economy. They claim tht Veolia, G4S, Orange, General Mills, and CRH have all left the Israeli market due to pressure from boycott campaigns. Some of those companies lost billions in contracts. Israel's largest agricultural company, Carmel Agrexco, entered liquidation after a boycott campaign. So maybe a dates and Jaffa orange boycott not so daft after all.
• Your final point is 'If I were to do anything I would'. But you're not going to do anything at all. So just a nice little daydream for you.

These aren't/weren't consumer boycotts. But if you think not buying Israeli dates is going to change things for people in Gaza, go right ahead.

It's a nice little daydream for you.

 

[hash tag]

A problem with dates is that if you don't buy Israeli ones, they are probably from a place with an appaling human rights record like Iran. Btw. Dates are very bad for your teeth.

 

[hash tag]

These aren't/weren't consumer boycotts. But if you think not buying Israeli dates is going to change things for people in Gaza, go right ahead.

As already mentioned, the other side of this coin is support Palestine by buying Palestinian products. We buy a lot of Zaytoun stuff, particularly olive oil.

 

[Spymaster]

A problem with dates is that if you don't buy Israeli ones, they are probably from a place with an appealing human rights record like Iran.

Top 5 exporters of dates are:

1) Israel
2) UAE
3) Tunisia
4) Saudi Arabia
5) Iran

Not a lot in it, is there?

 

[quimcunx]

The call for BDS came from Palestinian civil society. And I suspect it does matter because the tory government has banned or tried to ban councils and universities from having BDS policies.

 

[Favelado]

These aren't/weren't consumer boycotts. But if you think not buying Israeli dates is going to change things for people in Gaza, go right ahead.

It's a nice little daydream for you.

A consumer boycott was one part of the campaign strategy against Carmel Agrexco and dates were their biggest export.

 

[Favelado]

Top 5 exporters of dates are:

1) Israel
2) UAE
3) Tunisia
4) Saudi Arabia
5) Iran

Not a lot in it, is there?

The dates are grown on stolen land - it's very closely connected to the whole Palestinian cause - land, occupation, theft. It's not just a random product in the context of the Palestinian struggle as it would be in other countries.

I teach Palestinian children online and the coursebooks are full of references to dates and olives.

 

[Spymaster]

A consumer boycott was one part of the campaign strategy against Carmel Agrexco and dates were their biggest export.

Consumer boycotts of Israel have been going on for at least 50 years. Carmel shut its doors over 10 years ago. Right now things are arguably worse for Palestinians than they ever have been. That how effective consumer campaigns are.

Again, there's nothing wrong with doing it because it makes you feel engaged and "doing something", but don't kid yourself that you're changing the world.

 

[nino_savatte]

Phillips, Samsung, Dell, Gillete etc etc etc.

It is almost impossible to avoid buying products made in China, especially if buying online.

Those are brand names that are owned by companies outwith China.

Presumably, you buy a lot of shit from Light In The Box and Temu, no?

 

[nino_savatte]

Not sure I use Chinese products much... can you link to lists?
I have a Samsung phone...

Samsung is South Korean.

 

[Gramsci]

This thread is about what goods individuals can boycott.

If individuals want to do that they should not be criticised with "whataboutery" and its pointless.

That's the same as being told going on demos about Gaza is just "performative bollox" as said elsewhere.

The BDS campaign , as had been posted , came out of Palestine civil society as non violent way to get change.

Those who think this is all a waste of time can suggest alternatives.

I do wonder what Palestinians are meant to do.

Here is from the BDS website

What is BDS?

bdsmovement.net

Consumer boycotts are only one part.

The major parts are getting local Councils / governments etc to disinvest from Israel. Also for sanctions by governments.

This all seems perfectly reasonable to me, Non violent and something I would have thought reasonable to support.

 

[Favelado]

Consumer boycotts of Israel have been going on for at least 50 years. Carmel shut its doors over 10 years ago. Right now things are arguably worse for Palestinians than they ever have been. That how effective consumer campaigns are.

Again, there's nothing wrong with doing it because it makes you feel engaged and "doing something", but don't kid yourself that you're changing the world.

Noone thinks consumer campaigns alone are going to topple regimes so let's get rid of the first weird strawman.

Secondly, I don't think I'm changing the world in a massive way but of course everyone's tiny actions can contribute towards something larger.

 

[Spymaster]

Noone thinks consumer campaigns alone are going to topple regimes so let's get rid of the first weird strawman.

Secondly, I don't think I'm changing the world in a massive way but of course everyone's tiny actions can contribute towards something larger.

That's just not true in reality, as the current situation on the ground in Palestine shows, but as I said, if it makes you feel better about yourself, that's a good thing.

Go for it

 

[nino_savatte]

Phillips, Samsung, Dell, Gillete etc etc etc.

It is almost impossible to avoid buying products made in China, especially if buying online.

How about boycotting smart phones that have components sourced from the DR Congo?

 

[existentialist]

Again, there's nothing wrong with doing it because it makes you feel engaged and "doing something", but don't kid yourself that you're changing the world.

That's pretty much where I'm coming from. I am under no illusions that my buying decisions will make the slightest difference, but I don't want to consume products that from countries/organisations I know to have blood on their hands. Of course, there's a tiny hope that, if everyone did the same thing, it could make a difference, but that doesn't really feature much in my decisions.

 

[nino_savatte]

Phillips, Samsung, Dell, Gillete etc etc etc.

It is almost impossible to avoid buying products made in China, especially if buying online.

But boycotting products made in Israel is beyond the pale, right?

 

[hash tag]

Another way to take on this and other similar tragedies is to take action against the organisations that are helping to fuel it; the arms trade.

CAAT - Homepage

Campaign Against Arms Trade

caat.org.uk

 

[redsquirrel]

This thread is about what goods individuals can boycott.

If individuals want to do that they should not be criticised with "whataboutery" and its pointless.

That's the same as being told going on demos is just "performative bollox" as said elsewhere.

There is a significant problem with the word I've highlighted bold.

Demonstrations are not (or at lest should not be) individual actions, they are/should be a collective action. And the is the point about boycotts - organised boycotts, like those against SA and BDS are collective actions (or at least attempt to take a collective approach).

A collective boycott is very different from individuals engaging in 'ethical consumerism'.

 

[Favelado]

Spymaster

So apart from your own example of a boycott making a difference, examples I gave, and everything you've said so far being successfully rebutted by other posters- I guess I'll go with the sarcastic thumbs emoji winning the debate.

Cool.

Never too late to change your tagline back.

 

[Spymaster]

That's pretty much where I'm coming from. I am under no illusions that my buying decisions will make the slightest difference, but I don't want to consume products that from countries/organisations I know to have blood on their hands. Of course, there's a tiny hope that, if everyone did the same thing, it could make a difference, but that doesn't really feature much in my decisions.

Absolutely fair enough.

I'm similar in opinion to Sas, in that if it were at all realistic I might stop buying Chinese stuff, but it's pretty much impossible and I'm under no illusion that it would be anything more than me waving an impotent finger in their direction.

 

[Spymaster]

Spymaster

So apart from your own example of a boycott making a difference, examples I gave, and everything you've said so far being successfully rebutted by other posters ...

Don't be silly.

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

Those reticent on such actions are merely the product of their environment. Their status quo gets disrupted by people they consider beneath them making changes that will affect their comfortable equilibrium.
Ignore the middle class wankers. They only think in fiscal terms.

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

You can avoid Marks and Spencer’s for example.

https://www.cufi.org.uk/spotlight/the-jewish-roots-of-ms-and-how-it-helped-the-zionist-cause/

 

[klang]

From now on i shall only buy products that made it through the red sea.
No more cape goods for me.

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

stop buying American goods. Streaming and entertainment is an obvious one here.

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

Avoid Danish and German goods. Since they are actively arming the regime in Israel.

 

[Gramsci]

On boycotts.

There is a significant problem with the word I've highlighted bold.

Demonstrations are not (or at lest should not be) individual actions, they are/should be a collective action. And the is the point about boycotts - organised boycotts, like those against SA and BDS are collective actions (or at least attempt to take a collective approach).

A collective boycott is very different from individuals engaging in 'ethical consumerism'.

I agree. I'm not a great fan of individual boycotts. In actual fact the onus in BDS is collective action. Why I posted up more on BDS

It also puts to much onus on individuals. Heard founder of BDS talking recently and he said this is about what people are comfortable with doing given the context of where they live and circumstances. To add he was emphasising this is not about putting pressure on individuals.

I just dont like people being criticised in way they are on this thread for doing this.

 

[Gramsci]

The global nature of today’s economy means that there are thousands of companies that have links to Israel and are complicit to various degrees in Israel’s violations of international law. However, for our movement to have real impact we need our consumer boycotts to be easy to explain, have wide appeal and the potential for success. That’s why globally, while we call for divestment from all companies implicated in Israel's human rights violations, we focus our boycott campaigns on a select few strategic targets. We also encourage the principle of context sensitivity, whereby activists in any given context decide what best to target and how, in line with BDS guidelines. There is a lot of information online claiming that some large companies give money to Israel, some of which turns out to be false. BDS has built a reputation for strictly adhering to established facts and producing the most accurate information.

Here is what BDS campaign say.

Get Involved | BDS Movement

bdsmovement.net