Why I boycott Israeli products.

[SteveH]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/09/palestinian-town-split-in-two-by-israel-huwara

[Nearly Sane]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/09/palestinian-town-split-in-two-by-israel-huwara

Are there any other countries products you boycott?

[SteveH]

There are others i would boycott if I ever saw their products in the shops, but I don't. That is a symptom of what makes Israel unique amongst nasty regimes: it has the solid support oof most rich Western countries, especially America. I also avoid suspiciously cheap clothing, because it may have been produced in sweatshops abroad, but that's product-type-specific, not country-specific, and in any case I buy most of my clothes in charity shops.

[Nearly Sane]

There are others i would boycott if I ever saw their products in the shops, but I don't. That is a symptom of what makes Israel unique amongst nasty regimes: it has the solid support oof most rich Western countries, especially America. I also avoid suspiciously cheap clothing, because it may have been produced in sweatshops abroad, but that's product-type-specific, not country-specific, and in any case I buy most of my clothes in charity shops.

You never see products of China in shops, or you don't think that's a 'nasty regime'?

[SteveH]

You never see products of China in shops, or you don't think that's a 'nasty regime'?

I don't think I've knowingly bought any Chinese products for a long time.

[Nearly Sane]

I don't think I've knowingly bought any Chinese products for a long time.

I suspected you hadn't but they are about. Turkey is another country subject to boycotts that you see reasonably frequently. And then there is obviously the issue of component parts.

[SteveH]

Most things I buy are British-made or produced, especially food, to keep food-miles to a minimum, or at least Western-European, so it doesn't really apply anyway. It only really applies to kumquats, which I love, but the only ones I ever see in supermarkets are from Israel, so I don't buy them. To anticipate your next point, of course my refusing to buy Israeli (or any other nasty regime's) produce makes not a ha'p'orth of difference politically or economically, but it's a matter of personal integrity. For the same reason, I avoided South-African produce during the days of apartheid. Oddly, though, no-one ever accused me of being, or implied that I was, obsessed with South Africa to the exclusion of other nasty regimes, or suggested or implied that I might be prejudiced against white South Africans.

[Nearly Sane]

Most things I buy are British-made or produced, especially food, to keep food-miles to a minimum, or at least Western-European, so it doesn't really apply anyway. It only really applies to kumquats, which I love, but the only ones I ever see in supermarkets are from Israel, so I don't buy them. To anticipate your next point, of course my refusing to buy Israeli (or any other nasty regime's) produce makes not a ha'p'orth of difference politically or economically, but it's a matter of personal integrity. For the same reason, I avoided South-African produce during the days of apartheid. Oddly, though, no-one ever accused me of being, or implied that I was, obsessed with South Africa to the exclusion of other nasty regimes, or suggested or implied that I might be prejudiced against white South Africans.

Oddly enough before reading your reply, I didn't have a 'next point', and I wouldn't have thoughf of mentioning anything about the effect even after the first part of your reply 

When I thought about your OP, my thought wasn't that you were 'obsessed with Israel to the exclusion of other nasty regimes' but surprise that you didn't see products from other regimes that I suspected you did think of as 'nasty'.  I suppose the kumquats example that you give is indicative of it being about what is most obvious to you which is fair enough.

The issue about component parts arose because having mentioned China, it seens to me, that we are all likely to be using stuff with components from China.

[SteveH]

The issue about component parts arose because having mentioned China, it seens to me, that we are all likely to be using stuff with components from China.

You're probably right, but with complex items such as cars and washing machines, which have many different parts, we can at least avoid ones which are primarily Chinese. I've just discovered that Candy, the Italian company that made my washing machine, is a subsidiary of a Chinese multi-national. Oops.

[Nearly Sane]

You're probably right, but with complex items such as cars and washing machines, which have many different parts, we can at least avoid ones which are primarily Chinese. I've just discovered that Candy, the Italian company that made my washing machine, is a subsidiary of a Chinese multi-national. Oops.

I'm not sure that the vast majority of people have the time to do the sort of research into things on a detailex level . I suppose my point is that while it's absolutely fine for people to make ethical choices, that even when one has outlined one's ethical decisions, it's quite hard to live by them. Further that there is from some who do, not that I am saying you do, an underserved sanctimony  (that may well be a tautology now I read it) about their actions.