hey because i've been seeing a few of those bighuge boycott lists for palestine going around, reminder that the actual bds website is not calling for a boycott of so many companies.
bds activists are calling for a boycott of eight companies/products specifically:
- hp (hewlett packard)
- siemens
- axa
- puma
- israeli fruits and vegetables (not a company—all produce labelled as coming from israel)
- sodastream
- ahava cosmetics
- sabra
this list and the reason for the boycotts of these companies specifically is easily accessible on their website at this link.
also from their website, on the same page:
"What about those boycott lists with tens of products?
The global nature of today’s economy means that there are thousands of companies that have links to Israel and are complicit to various degrees in Israel’s violations of international law. However, for our movement to have real impact we need our consumer boycotts to be easy to explain, have wide appeal and the potential for success. That’s why globally, while we call for divestment from all companies implicated in Israel's human rights violations, we focus our boycott campaigns on a select few strategic targets. We also encourage the principle of context sensitivity, whereby activists in any given context decide what best to target and how, in line with BDS guidelines. There is a lot of information online claiming that some large companies give money to Israel, some of which turns out to be false. BDS has built a reputation for strictly adhering to established facts and producing the most accurate information."
[image description: two diagrams. the first shows white lines pointing to various red dots. there are only one or two lines pointing to each dot. some lines don't appear to be pointing at anything in particular, and some dots are not being pointed to. this diagram is labelled "Not targeted consumer boycott".
the second diagram shows many lines pointing at the same single dot. all of the lines are focused and they are completely surrounding the dot. this diagram is labelled, "A targeted consumer boycott focuses on a small number of companies". end description.]
this is all to say that while those 20-item-long boycott lists and their spread are usually well-intended, they are not helpful or necessary at this point in time. not buying from disney or walmart is not as effective and influential as refusing to buy products coming directly from stolen palestinian land. convincing people they need to remember a giant list of companies and products to not support will only intimidate them out of doing anything at all.
if you want to participate in the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement, please please PLEASE get your information from an organized group of activists who are involved, not (just) from stuff you see going around on twitter. the overview of the movement can be looked at on their website at this link. they also have resources about what else to do and how to get involved in your own community.
palestine WILL be free, and it will be free with focused organization.
edit: bds is also encouraging a boycott of carrefour, a company which is not included on the page about their other active boycotts. you can read about this boycott specifically on their website at this link.
- papa john's
- mcdonald's
- domino's
- burger king
- pizza hut
however, i can't find any reliable information outside of this twitter thread where they call for a strategic, targeted boycott of these companies. that doesn't necessarily mean not to boycott these companies too, but right now, what they are advocating most is the continued targeting of the nine companies they are specifically calling for to be boycotted.
