Boycotts and Child Soldiers: Stephen Sizer’s version of peace and justice in Israel and Uganda

This is what an anti-Israel boycott looks like in a French supermarket:

Pretty scary, I’m sure you’ll agree, and full of historical resonance for Jews.

Now here’s a video of similar activites at a British supermarket:

Stephen Sizer blogs on the fruits of this rather exciting anti-Israel activity, reposting an article from Nadia Hijab:

There are other results. Activists in Britain have targeted the supermarket chain Tesco to stop the sales of Israeli goods produced in settlements. In a video of one such action — over 38,000 YouTube views to date — Welsh activists load up a trolley with settlement products and push it out of the shop without paying. All the while, they calmly explain to the camera just what they are doing and why. They talk away as they pour red paint over the produce, and as British Bobbies quietly lead them away to a police van. The result of such consumer boycotts? A fifth of Israeli producers have reported a drop in demand since the assault on Gaza, particularly in Britain and Scandinavia.

Now, if there’s a conflict on the world, why not do your best to improve the situation rather than stir up hatred?

After all, Stephen Sizer promotes positive work in Uganda, posting a link on his blog to the Invisible Children project, and allowing viewers to see this video interview with Tim Sudworth:

So why does Stephen Sizer promote such a worthy cause in Uganda, whilst he calls for a boycott on Israel?

You may have noticed Rev Sizer has not himself called for a boycott on Uganda.

Nor has he said anything about Hamas’ child soldiers:

Why does Rev Sizer have one policy of peace and justice for Uganda and another for Israel?

If not antisemitism, then what is the reason?

Can anyone explain?

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8 responses to “Boycotts and Child Soldiers: Stephen Sizer’s version of peace and justice in Israel and Uganda

  1. Dooley

    Stephen Sizer no doubt thinks the boycotts are a justifiable means of advocating Palestinian rights. Sadly he seems to show no concern whatsoever about the attendant antisemitism which accompanies the boycott campaigns. That’s because a boycott of Israel is for the most part a boycott of Jews, as Engage show here:

    Don’t buy from the Jews!

    Jacob’s comments at http://engageonline.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/some-british-people-who-are-very-pleased-with-themselves/ are helpful:

    “Hopefully in the future there will be an independent Palestine living in peace alongside Israel but as of today there is no such country. Nor is it true that there have been Palestinian “olives groves for thousands of years. Two thousand years ago (before they were expelled by the Romans and their country was rename Palestine) there were Judean people living on the land and I assume some of them grew olives.

    It is also debatable whether international law sanctions the boycotter’s destruction of private property no matter its origin. Such actions only make people like me (who do not support Jewish settlements on the West Bank) more determined not to give in to their blackmail.”

    But when since was Rev Sizer concerned about either facts or the threat of antisemitism?

  2. Not all those people are conscious antisemites, most of them are just conformists. They do what they think humanists do.

    It’s obvious though that antijewish sentiments are at the core of those very specific actions and discourses: those people don’t care about Turkey (remember the Kurds?), or China (remember Tibet?), or even the USA (do they storm the shelves looking for products from the USA? no), etc…

    They boycott only Israelis and Israeli products.

    This specific and obsessive hate has a name, and it’s neither “liberalism” nor “humanism”.

    However, since this specific and obsessive hate is encouraged by many Liberals (including many “as a Jew” antizionists), those militants cannot realize how wrong and twisted are their ideas about Israel and zionism.

  3. Shrewsfan

    Does Sizer call for boycotts of nations with far worst human rights records than Israel? Has he, for instance, called for any action to be taken against Iran for its president’s denial of the first Holocaust and threat to perpetrate a second? No, he’s chummed up with that regime and allowed it to translate his vile book into Farsi. There is no reason whatseover to believe Sizer’s claim that he repudiates antisemitism.

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  5. j.r.

    Haven’t noticed many calls for a boycott of Sri Lanka either. In fact there has been a deafening silence about that particular conflict.

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