There are some things you just try to avoid arguing about on the internets for fear of being caught in a crossfire of angry and stupid. You know the ones, where both sides of some topic are so polarised and extreme that no matter how mild your comment is one of the warring sides will paint you as the great satan?
Perhaps the Israel/Palestine debate is the original “avoid at all costs” topic that most sane people take special care not to involved in. Not that I don’t have opinions on the subject, but call me a pessimist but I don’t think there will ever be a peaceful resolution that pleases both sides in our lifetime.
So anyway, a subsection of local Palestinian activists have been pursuing BDS. Despite only being just one letter off BDSM it is much less interesting than it sounds. I can’t remember quite what it stood for but basically it was a basically a highly wanky way of saying “boycott” of Israeli products and services.
Now, first up. Whatever. I don’t fall into the camp of blind Israel defenders that try to pigeonhole ANY criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic. If you want to boycott anything from Israel, go nuts for all I care. It’s your money, shop or don’t shop where-ever the hell you like. But I do wonder about some of their targets.
Yes. For some reason a friggen chocolate shop is the main business targeted. Out of all the Israeli businesses or businesses with links to Israel they pick a chocolate shop because they provide chocolate to the ration packs of IDF soldiers. Now correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think if Max Brenner stopped providing chocolate to the IDF that a Palestinian state would happen any faster. How about protesting at the Israeli embassy? Or if you want to target businesses with links to Israel, surely there would be other businesses with greater links than chocolate of all things.
ALSO the oz story on it says.
MAX Brenner says he is a man of peace who hates all forms of violence.
Actually, Max Brenner is as real as Ronald McDonald. It comes from a combination of the names of the founders Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner. I think someone at the company was taking the mickey with the oz.