By H. Applebaum
SAN DIEGO — When I moved to a small city in the South, a place with a long-standing Jewish community, I was disappointed that there was no place to buy kosher meat. There were both Conservative and Reform congregations, yet there was not enough demand. At least the local supermarket carried Hebrew National franks, and some Passover products. However, after a few years, the Passover section shrunk to a few boxes of matzoh, and the kosher hot dogs were gone. “What happened,” I asked the friendly store manager. “Not enough demand,” he said.
“Deli Night” at the synagogue was a big success because someone volunteered to make the two hour drive for the cold cuts. The following year, no one wanted to make the drive, but “Deli Night” was still on – with Boar’s Head cold cuts! I didn’t go that year, and the following year neither did a lot of other people. That was the end of “Deli Night.”
These disheartening experiences made me realize that a lot of well-meaning Jews don’t even think about the results of their buying habits. Naturally, if a product doesn’t sell, the store will discontinue it. That is one reason it is so important to buy Israeli goods.
The power of the purse; the products you do buy are just as important as the ones you don’t. It was a terror tactic that the Palestinians used in 1978 when they injected mercury into Jaffa oranges. When it was discovered, the sale of oranges from Israel took a nosedive. The poisoning of Israeli products was followed by the B.D.S. movement, whose purpose is to destroy the state of Israel. As I researched this article, I was shocked at the number of websites devoted to B.D.S. One site led with an alarming statistic that a third of Britain supports an Israeli boycott, another boasted a complete list of Israeli products and companies doing business with Israel.
Though we’re small in number, if we unite for a cause, we can make a difference. That is why we should all join the B.I.G movement, Buy Israeli Goods.
Every time I shop, I pick up at least one Israeli item. It might be canned olives, pickles, Kedem cookies, or seasonings. At holiday times there is usually a wide array of choices. Elite chocolates and Ahava beauty products, which use minerals from the Dead Sea, are very popular. Israeli wine is excellent and it tastes better (at least to me) because it’s from Israel.
Buy Israeli Goods (B.I.G.). That is how anyone and everyone can thumb their nose at B.D.S. That is how we can support those in Israel who are on the front lines against terror. It’s a way to show Jewish solidarity.
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Applebaum is a freelance writer based in San Diego.