Introducing a new series where I bring to you news from the newspaper archives to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.
With BDS all the rage among the Israel haters these days, did you know that Arab were boycotting Jewish goods before the establishment of the modern state of Israel?
Except they were not called “Jewish” goods.
From the New York Times, December 4th, 1945.
Note: I cannot provide a link to the full article since it is only available to those who have purchased a NY Times subscription. But I have provided a screenshot below.
Yes, there were Arabs living in Israel at the time, but they were not a distinct nation called “Palestinian.” They were simply referred to as “Arab groups in Palestine” (I will get around to the birth of “Palestinian nationalism” in the early 20th century in other posts).
Hat tip: Roberto.
People of a certain age still refer to Jews living in pre-1948 Israel as “Palestinian”.
Another interesting part of the article is that when the Arab League spokesman was asked about the 70,000 Arabs working for the boycotted businesses, he said, “Zionists will be most pleased when 70,000 Arabs are forced to leave Palestine.” In other words, Arab rulers didn’t give any more of a damn about the people they were supposed to serve than they do now.