Boycotting Israel

by Crumpet 42 Replies latest social current

  • SixofNine
    SixofNine
    If Hezbolla had not kidnapped the the 2 members of the IDF and killed one... there would be no war in Lebanon.

    Not sure I see how you equate this war with that action. Does.not.compute. One is not like the other.

    Patrick McGreevy writes from Beirut:

    The War’s Deathbed

    " It is 3 am in Beirut. The war is scheduled to keel over and give up the ghost in five hours. Those of us attending the deathbed scene are full of questions and doubts. Might we finally grasp the purpose of this war in its concluding moments the way we find, in 19th-century novels, the meaning of a character’s life in the death-bed scene? Or might we learn that the war is as meaningless as it seems?

    A few hours ago, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced that Israel will negotiate for the release of the two prisoners captured on July 12, something Hezbollah was ready to do 33 days ago. Was the capture of these soldiers the equivalent of George Bush’s weapons of mass destruction, a mere pretext for an operation to create a “new Middle East”? Both initiatives produced disasters for civilians, but did they achieve some hidden strategic objective too subtle for average people to grasp? Or are both of these wars of choice the purposeless catastrophes they appear to be? At least the battle of Lebanon has the possibility of passing away. The death watch continues.

    At 2:45 pm on Sunday, Beirut endured twenty bombing attacks in the space of two minutes. Facing south from our balcony on the American University of Beirut Campus, the incessant explosions reminded me of a Fourth of July fireworks finale on steroids. I almost expected to see a glittering Star-Spangled Banner on the southern horizon. Of course, this was an experience brought to us by US-made ordnance. As the bombs strike the residential neighborhoods of southern Beirut again and again, it is strange that no UN resolution demands that the supplier of these weapons cease to deliver them to Israel. On Saturday, thousands of leaflets fell from the sky, littering West Beirut; they depicted Nasrallah poking his head out of a cedar tree and urged us to get “the destroyer of Lebanon” off of our backs.

    When, a day later, Beirut experienced the most intense bombing of the war, did the Israeli psych-ops people expect us not to notice that the same country dropped the leaflets and the bombs? For all but the most subtle, that country seemed the obvious candidate for “destroyer of Lebanon.” During the deafening two minutes, children were screaming and we could see hundreds of birds, shaken from their roosts, taking flight simultaneously, in a completely random pattern that resembled a colossal swarm of bees. I suppose we hope that was the finale, and that the old war, now sated, can simply expire."

  • scotsman
    scotsman

    Don't you "shop local" anyway? The Israeli's may be killing the Lebanese but those airmiles will kill us all! (Tongue firmly in cheek).

    I went on the anti-war march here on Saturday and it's not an easy choice as I didn't agree with the banners that were pro Hizbollah nor the homophobia of most Arab States, but my disgust at the IDF trumps both of these.

  • Arthur
    Arthur
    Get in line with the Native Americans, the Hawaaians, the blacks in the US and in Africa, the Arabs, the Muslims, the Tibetans, Buddhists, the Chinese, Japanese

    Ah yes, but does anybody criticize the Native Americans for the way that they fought back against their attackers? I certainly don't. Does anybody blame the African slaves for fighting back and launching the mutiny on The Amistad? Not too many. Would anybody have blamed the Tibetans for defending themselves against the Chinese? Not anybody who was rational.

    So before we start boycotting Israeli coffee mugs and T-shirts, lets consider what it might be like if hundreds of rockets started raining down upon our own neighborhoods. Maybe some of you Brits should talk to those old enough to remember the German's bombing of London. I doubt that Winston Churchill felt that he could achieve peace by placating the Nazis, or by appealing to Hitler's sense of fairness.

  • Crumpet
    Crumpet

    I've really enjoyed reading all the comments.

    I think I will boycott both sides equally. Since I don't consume any Israeli products I will boycott the Old Testament. I will also phase out hummus, falafel, and shawarma from my diet to protest the actions of Hezbolla.

    W

    Finally-free you always always make me laugh! Boycotting the old testament...made my sides ache!

    Lowden - I've never seen protestors outside M&S and I shop there every single day. (Tetra - thank you!) I do have a question though if Israel doesn't export anything why is the country so darned wealthy - can anyone explain this? unapologetic Limey Liberal Crumpet x

  • Arthur
    Arthur
    Since I don't consume any Israeli products I will boycott the Old Testament.

    LOL, I love that, that's great.

    I have been boycotting the Old Testament for quite some time myself; and I didn't even know that I was making a political statement! LOL.

  • SWALKER
    SWALKER

    Crumpet: Check your jewely!!! I have some beautiful pieces that were hand-made in Israel. If you've been to NY...you see who runs most of the diamond shops!!!

    Swalker (Has a problem with the diamond trade now anyway due to the abuses in Africa!!!)

  • Crumpet
    Crumpet

    I don't have any diamonds or any jewellery! I wish! Any pieces I do have are just cheap costume items. Nice idea though!

  • Dansk
    Dansk

    Hi Bryan:

    If Hezbolla had not kidnapped the the 2 members of the IDF and killed one... there would be no war in Lebanon.

    Last Sunday a reporter here said that it was actually the Israeli's who started the conflict by kidnapping an Arab doctor and his son! I hadn't heard or seen that report anywhere else, but the reporter was adamant it was true.

    Ian

  • Gill
    Gill

    What a wonderful idea. I can boycot my neighbour who is a born again, jewish fanatical christian, (before I throtte her for the total nonsense she spouts on how god decides where she and her family live and what they do and when they break wind!)

    I believe that some fresh herbs, certain potatoes, Marks and Sparks are all of Jewish origin.

    To be fair...Hezbollah did start it BUT the Jews certainly emulate their God (Jehovah even though they daren;'t say his name) for and eye for an eye, or in their case, ten eyes for an eye!

    Come on Israel...CHILL!

    If Israel had done nothing except concentrate on shooting down the incomings, there would have been a very different story to tell, and we'd have been flocking to Marks and Sparks and the herb aisle at Sainsburys.

    Have Patriot missile launchers ceased to function? Do fighters not shoot down incomings anymore? Does Israel not practice practical self defense to defend its peoples?

  • Gill
    Gill

    Israel, does, makes very little.

    Druing the phase when the Haribu became Pharoahs in Egypt, all building work also stopped. The nation went backwards in its Maat (justice) laws and Egypt did not 'build' again till the Haribu (Hebrews) were overthrown and went back to wandering.

    We can't even boycott their ancient pyramids because they MADE nothing!

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