The Orthodox Union’s Israel Center in Jerusalem is holding monthly "blue and white" trade fairs to promote goods from Judea and Samaria that are boycotted by the Palestinian Authority. A Knesset committee also wants political measures against the PA. Several leftist and pro-Arab organizations have distributed lists of the products that it encourages supporters not to buy.
The monthly OU Fair, most recently held on Monday, is “a declaration that we do not make any distinction between Judea and Samaria and other parts of Israel," said Phil Chernokofsky, administrator of the Israel Center. He explained that the boycott and similar anti-Israeli policies from outside the country encourage people throughout the world to think that Judea and Samaria is not part of the country. Choosing to purchase Israeli products is called "buying blue and white" in Israel in a referrence to the colors of the Israeli flag.
Trade fair organizer Dina Sattler told Israel National News that a family from Dolev, located in Samaria, makes and sells its paper goods but also has developed a mail-order business for products from Judea and Samaria. They have regular customers seeking their wares at the Israel Center fair every month.
The OU makes the space available free of charge, Sattler added. Among items sold are matzah, wine, cakes, cosmetics, spices, dried vegetables, olive oil and Judaica.
On the political front, the Knesset Economics Committee held a special session this week to discuss the Palestinian Authority boycott of products from Judea and Samaria.
The committee, meeting despite the spring recess, unanimously agreed to "demand that the government act against Palestinian Authority boycott policies that contradict previous agreements.”
The committee members called on the government to take counter-boycott measures against Arab products from Judea and Samaria.
Evidence was produced that disproves claims by Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer that the PA is not carrying out an official boycott policy. PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has publicly told Arabs it is illegal to buy Jewish goods and products from the area and has participated in a public bonfire in which thousands of dollars of Jewish-made products were burned.
Yehuda Cohen of the Lipski factory said that one of his Arab customers is in jail for buying Jewish-made products.
"The Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry acts like the three monkeys -- it sees nothing, hears nothing and says nothing,” said National Union Knesset Member Uri Ariel. MK Robert Ilatov, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset caucus, said that if the PA does not call off the boycott, Israel should block all Arab goods and produce from crossing checkpoints at the separation barrier.
He said a harsher step would be to cancel “goodwill” measures Israel has made to bolster the PA government.