Many years ago, I heard that message from Women in Green founder Nadia Matar, and it’s relevant today, too.
The fact that there’s industry in Judea, Samaria, Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights owned by Jews is a wonderful thing. And the fact that the BDS and their fellow travelers love to list them makes it much easier for people to davka patronize them.
There’s industry here, and the products are sold and used all over the world, not just locally.
Too many people even in Israel still like to think that we somehow live in tents and caravans commuting to work in “Israel.” The “settlement enterprise,” sic has been thriving for about forty years already.
Besides the traditional, going back to Biblical times, of wines, olive oil etc, there’s also high tech here and all sorts of other industries, international, too. And contrary to what people like to think, Arabs work together with Jews in some of them.
The Ariel University is probably the fastest growing one in Israel. And it, too, benefits Arabs.
Nothing is apartheid against Arabs. The only people restricted are Jews. There are places where are warned not to enter, roads not to drive on, businesses we are kept out of and schools we are forbidden to study or teach in.
BDS and the like-minded actually do us a favor by mentioning all of the businesses and educational opportunities here. Patronize them, please.
