"One of the easiest political acts I've ever done. Or not done."
Jerusalem, July 16 - A man who vowed not to contribute to the economy of the society that tried to murder him and his family admitted today that the process of divesting himself of all products originating in that society, and of undertaking not to purchase any products from that society for the rest of his life, has proved undemanding in the extreme, with not a single identifiable feature of his retail life affected.
Kobi Shir, 40, survived the October 7, 2023 massacres by Palestinians of Israelis in Israel's south near the Gaza Strip, along with several family members. He lost four close friends, however, plus a dozen acquaintances, with many more injured, some disfigured for life. Following the attack, Mr. Shir committed to a complete boycott of anything manufactured by Palestinians, akin to the way many Jews have refused since the Holocaust to buy a German car. He has found however, that, unlike the automotive market, where the boycott effort requires a measure of sacrifice in forgoing items of quality and prestige, refraining from the purchase of Palestinian products requires no noticeable shift in normative buying habits.
"I'd boycott Palestinian product if there were any Palestinian industry to boycott," he explained. "Sure, some produce comes from them, but I've been making an effort anyway to support struggling Israeli farms since October, so my food-shopping habit haven't been challenged in the slightest by this decision. And since I can't see needing to avail myself of homemade rockets, roadside bombs, suicide vests, or airplane hijacking, that doesn't leave much for me to cut out."
"I'm not in construction or agriculture," he continued, specifying two major economic arenas in Israel that rely on Palestinian labor, or did until October. "Turns out there's not a heck of a lot I can actually do to implement this boycott. I'd call it frustrating, but mostly it's one of the easiest political acts I've ever done. Or not done."
Analysts noted an ironic contrast between Mr. Shir's one-man campaign and the adherents of the BDS movement: he sincerely wishes to boycott Palestinian products, but cannot find any such products to boycott; they profess vociferous support for a boycott, and despite the plethora of Israeli products and services to avoid - tech components, apps, devices, pharmaceuticals, agricultural advances, and auto safety products, for example - seldom do any BDS advocates in fact remove those devices, services, or products from their everyday use.
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