Teach Your Children Well

As a parent, busy as I am raising the next generation of Evil Zionists, I always try to find ways to connect with my kids on the subject of Israel. Taking them on their first-ever trip to Israel a few months ago was, as you might imagine, a big help in that regard.

Whether munching on savory, spherical, golden awesomeness at The Yemenite Falafel Center, sharing a plate of Chummus Im Basar (Hummus with meat) at Pinati, climbing on the tanks at Latrun, or touching the stones of the Kotel, we now have a treasure chest of Israel-related memories to share as a family.

Since we can’t bring Israel back to the States with us, we try to buy Israeli products whenever we can. Usually, we do so because we enjoy said products. For example, when it comes to Israeli chocolate, my daughter is a Mekupelet freak…

Mekupelet

…while my son is more of a Pesek Zman enthusiast.

Pesek Zman

Sometimes, though, the reason for buying these products goes beyond merely satisfying our taste buds. Sometimes we buy Israeli products because there are malevolent or misguided (or both) bigots out there saying we shouldn’t.

Brian’s recent BUYcott blogging binge reminds me that BUYcotts are a great way to connect with kids about Israel. Every time an organization like Buycott Israel or  StandWithUs calls for a BUYcott – the positive, pro-Israel response to the discriminatory, Jew-hatey BDS movement’s call for a boycott of Jewish Israeli (and some Jewish, non-Israeli) businesses, my kids and I make BUYcotting those targeted products a family activity.

Whether buying Israeli Couscous at Trader Joe’s on November 30, 2010…

…or Dorot fresh frozen herbs and seasonings during BIG (Buy Israel Goods) Week last April…

…my kids have really enjoyed doing taking part in these pro-Israel BUYcotts. They feel like they are taking part in something important – something bigger than themselves (they are), and it brings us closer together, because they know it is important to me.

Last year, I also started to talk about pro-Israel BUYcotts in my Israel-related classes. Some of my students have participated with their own families, and some haven’t (yet), but the ones who have all came back with enthusiastic reports of Israeli products proudly purchased.

The Arab-Israeli conflict can be tough for most kids (and for that matter, most adults) to grasp, so when an opportunity presents itself to teach a lesson in a concrete way that helps personalize this issue for children, we should take advantage as often as possible.

So BUYcott with your kids. BUYcott with your students. Teach your children well, so that one day, when they find themselves on a college campus near you, they’ll be far less likely to fall prey to the morally narcissistic siren song of the calls to boycott Israeli products, echoing off the ivy-covered walls.

30 thoughts on “Teach Your Children Well”

  1. I was shopping at the only Costco Wholesale Warehouse in the state of Iowa yesterday looking to buy my usual staples of whole bean house blend coffee, sesame seed bagels and rotisserie chicken when I remembered the Buycott featured on this fine blog. Then, miracle of miracles, one of the many food sampling stations scattered throughout the store was one featuring couscous. It was labeled Israeli couscous which was a selling point for me. It was only till I got home that I confirmed that this product is from Sderot, Israel and is produced by a company by the name of Osem. And the product has a shelf life of 16 months!

      1. But Israelis still benefit which can only be a good thing!

        Sometimes we get bell peppers from Israel. I always buy whatever I can get from Israel.

  2. We have some good Israeli wines at our midwestern grocery chain now (Giant Eagle). Yarden is a popular brand. Also wine shops will sometimes stock or order specific wines for you if they can get them through their distributers.

  3. My wife and I just came back from here less than half an hour ago. We sampled around 15-20 wines, some of them superb.

    Brought home 12 bottles from 3 Israeli boutique vineyards, after making decisions based on the tastings:

    Ventura
    Alexander
    Ben Zimra

    Generally, these wineries produce 15K-25K bottles per year.

    Also highly regarded on our list:

    Gush Etzyon
    Shiloh
    Yatir

    But there are so many more to choose from here. Many of these wineries have won blind tasting contests in Europe and elsewhere.

          1. That’s what you get for having your capital named after French monks.

            Or we could take the alternate etymological theory and say it was named after loons.

            Yeh, that sounds more like it. 🙂

            1. Are you absolutely sure of that? I seem to remember from my elementary school days that Des Moines was French for “the mounds.” Come to think of it, I think “Shy Guy” is French for “annoying man who invariably gets everything wrong.” Although, admittedly, my French is a bit sketchy.

                1. Well, as you’ve pointed out to me at least a half dozen times over the years, Wikipedia is not authoritative. Although I’m reasonably sure “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” was. You think Aussie Dave would be receptive to the idea of a featurette called “Queer Eye for the Shy Guy” where I correct all your misunderstandings and misgivings of gay people?

                  1. I have no misunderstanding of homosexuals such as yourself.

                    Amazing what slop you feel needs to be brought up time and time again.

                    1. This what I’m talking about. Bringing up gay people feels like slop to you, but it is a normal part of everyday conversation for me. You need this suggested featurette more than you know.

                    2. Why are you bringing up sexual preferences in a conversation which has nothing to do about that?

                      I would be just as disgusted if normal people (you read that correctly) started yabbering away about theirs.

                      You’re just another faggot jackass seeking attention. You read that correctly, too.

                    3. Wow, we reached the end of the ability to “Reply.” I feel like we reached the end of the universe.

                      But what I wanted to say in all seriousness is I would appreciate it if we could refrain from the name calling. Kind of spoils the atmosphere I want to create on here.

                  2. jim,greetings.
                    just noticed this,(harry’s place)-jewish outrage over cure gays article.(comment by jan frank)quite funny.
                    thank you(dave)thought jim may like it.regards to z-shark.

    1. There isn’t a single major Israeli ice cream brand that I can think of that comes anywhere near the quality of numerous brands in the US.

      1. What are you saying? US is better. Bullhokey. Theres so much in Israel that is vastly superior.

        Limonana pops, shokobanan, the wich, etc..

  4. (I think you get to a certain point and Worpress just gives up on the “Reply” bar–this message is intended as a reply to Shy Guy.)

    OH MY!

    1. jim greetings.
      ive been for a while today catching up on whats going on,and its you again getting told of by shy i think you do this on purpose as you like him to repremand you,this sounds like fetish.
      in truith not all people accept/understand/mix with gay people as a matter of religious understanding as you know we do not accept this form of life style but it is accepted more by more people than before tel aviv is an acceptable example,i,m sure likes you rearly and is may-be correct your fetish needs attention.
      posting reply to challah,i got mail saying as this is your first time here please confirm your id.second time now.

      1. soloman4israel says:
        February 1, 2012 at 9:02 pm

        …i,m sure likes you rearly…

        One of the funniest typos to ever hit the internet!

        1. shy greetings,e’m i noticed as i hit submit
          so it does not take much to make you laugh then you must get out more.

      2. Thanks for your thoughtful comments. As an openly gay man, it honestly would not occur to me to hide who I am. I recognize that Shy Guy (and perhaps others who come to this site) see any mention of gay people as provocative. It is not. It is a natural part of how I express myself. I don’t go into lewd descriptions of sex acts or pretend to come on to him or anything of the kind. I simply insist on recognizing the existence of gay people as a normal part of human experience. Now if that’s a fetish, sign me up.

        1. jim,we all know that gay men/women exist in all walks of life/religion , and more these days it is accepted by a wider range of people.
          i think a lot of people have the idea not just that it is wrong but also grubby not always because of religious teaching bringing up,but because of the way some gays have acted in the past and i expect some may still do so,when famous singers are caught in wash rooms with male partners it’s just another way to tell the public it’s grubby.
          also i think people have the idea that if they are seen with gays and say they dont mind gay people ,others will think they are the same,so you also have embarresment.
          mind you i think shy (should) start a fetish club the amount of whippings he gives you.
          and if he comes back with my typo/spelling errors,i’m going to pay for a ticket for you to pop over and sort him.

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