Ultra-left Peace Bloc has circulated an updated list of Judea/Samaria settlements and products for the purpose of having them boycotted – and the Shomron Regional Council is using it to enhance sales.
The left-wing group periodically circulates the list, and a note accompanying the most recent one explains, “The settlements over the Green Line are the main obstacle to historic peace between Israel and Palestine.”
This statement is widely considered to be patently false, in that there is no longer an entity called Palestine, and because the PLO was founded with the goal of destroying Israel in 1964, three years before Israel liberated the areas past the Green Line (Judea and Samaria).
“It is the national obligation of every Israeli citizen,” Peace Bloc continues, “and of every person for whom peace is a supreme value, to do his best to return the Israeli citizen settlers to their homes that are in the State of Israel.”
This statement has also raised many eyebrows, in that the vast majority of Jews residing in Judea and Samaria, similar to those living in the rest of the State of Israel, do not own more than one home. Recent experience in attempting to find alternative housing for the Jews of Gush Katif – equal to only a fraction of those in Judea and Samaria – indicates that expelling and relocating them would be virtually a mission impossible.
Despite this, the radical group exhorts its members to “print and disseminate this list among your friends and relatives. Hang it on bulletin boards near your homes, at your local supermarkets, and in your place of work. Look at it when you buy products or seek services.”
The Shomron Regional Council, for its part, is using the list to its own advantage. It has publicized the same list, but with a different accompanying message.
“The tattle-tale work of the ‘Peace Bloc’ gang has one benefit,” the Council writes, “and that is in carefully locating and listing all the factories and businesses in Judea and Samaria. Thanks to their work, we can recommend specific stores and factories for our friends and supporters who wish to help us – and give Peace Bloc full credit for their trouble.”
“Without their work,” the Council continues, “many people would not have known that Kibbutz Mitzpeh Shalem [north of Ein Gedi, along the Dead Sea] is a ‘settlement,’ that Shamir Salads are made in Barkan, that Abadi cookies are made in Atarot, and that Fried’s Blankets are manufactured in Ariel.”
Among the businesses listed on the 12-page document are:
Ahavah (natural cosmetics), Mitzpeh ShalemAmgazit (gas equipment), Kfar Etzion
Beigel & Beigel (pretzels), Barkan
Beitili (furniture), Barkan
Har-Shefi (boxes), Beit El
Keter (plastic furniture), Barkan
Mei Tzurim (water purification), Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion
Mitkanei Psagot (playground equipment), Psagot
Orli-Print, N’vei Daniel
Palphot (photography products), Karnei Shomron
Tefillin Beit El, Beit El