to ask if anyone has boycotted stores etc

[spence82]

Have any of you boycotted any shops or particular brands because you don't agree with some of there policies?

I often see on things like fb or twitter people saying this. For example people boycotting tesco due to the bad taste 'mental' patient Halloween costume.

I will be honest and say I've never even thought about boycotting somewhere.

I am afraid I have to own up to putting words into Shak's mouth. It was me who said I was worried that anti Zionism is (sometimes) a cover for anti Semitism, though that is a general feeling and was not particularly to referring to anything you had said Theo.

However I can well see that it might look that way and I apologise, but apologise more to Shak for inferring too much from what she said.

However Theo I am really delighted that you (like me) think anti-Semitism is horrendous and is simply not to be tolerated. I would not want to be accused of it either, so, again, apologies.

Does hating Israeli people extend to the Arab ones, I wonder?

I don't boycott Israeli goods generally, and I think the points about how Israel compares favourably with its neighbours that shak and others have made are well-taken.

However, I don't buy Israeli agricultural produce, because it may well have been grown on land seized by settlers in the occupied territories. I don't want to help those illegal settlements, which do so much to frustrate any peace process, be economically viable.

That's a fair point Denzel and I actually agree with you about the settlements.

Other than the peace process issue, it also seems hypocritical to me to apply Israeli civil law in the settlements but at the same time employ Palestinians within these settlements at Palestinian wages rather than Israeli minimum wage (which is what they would earn at the very least if they were allowed to work in Israel) - although I think there was a recent court ruling that Palestinians working in settlements DO have to have the full benefit of Israeli employment legislation. It doesn't justify the settlements, but at least it's a bit fairer.

When I lived in Israel, I avoided produce from the settlements (not much actually - but there were still the Gaza settlements and they had a lot of greenhouse produce) so I see where you're coming from.

Nestlé for ethical reasons.

I would boycott The Sun but it's utter shite so they've never had my custom anyway. Does that count?! Same goes for Starbucks, McDonald's and KFC. Don't like meat or coffee so I suppose that has something to do with it.

All other actual boycotts are due to bad personal experience:

Debenhams due to an appalling customer service experience many years ago where I left sobbing and received a generic "tough shit" letter in response to my complaint.

Sky due to their utterly awful customer service and general incompetence.

Schuh because they tried to tell me that the heel falling off my day-old shoe was 'general wear and tear' and that's what they supply a spare set of heels for. I wanted to punch the bitch who tried to tell me I'd tampered with the shoes to make it look worse

Santander because they mistook me for someone with the same name (different salutation, different home address, different date of birth) and refused to remove her bad credit mark from my credit record for THREE YEARS. Wouldn't deal with me by phone because I "wasn't the account holder" NO BECAUSE I AM NOT THE FUCKING PERSON YOU SAY I AM and wouldn't reply to my letters of correspondence. Letter, after letter, after letter, after letter... and only managed to resolve their almighty fuckup when I got the Financial Ombudsman Service AND my MP involved. Useless pricks.

My mum hasn't stepped foot in a Mothercare since the staff refused to let her toddler (my DB) use the loo. She was heavily pregnant at the time, flounced off and hasn't been back since. That was 30-odd years ago.

What's all this about urban outfitters?? Depressing!
I don't really boycott anything, but would never buy the sun.
I would love to be able to boycott amazon, but it seems totally impossible to do this completely and live a busy and, let's face it, very disorganised, life.
I am so depressed to see that voicing opposition to Israeli settlements is somehow seen (by some) as stemming from antisemitism. That seems to be an emotive way to howl down a perfectly reasonable opposition to very shit behaviour from the regime in Israel!

littletigers
You'll find the most vocal and active opposition to settlements coming from within civil society in Israel itself. No one here has said that opposing settlements or criticism of Israel is anti-semitic.

But I do think that the obsession with and singling out of Israel, among all countries and global issues, does go beyond simply caring about the Palestinians - look at Ken Livingstone for a good example.

The boycott of Israel existed long before the settlements ever did.

GoneGirl, I buy Israeli products. I like avocados to much. Actually next time I see the Anti-Israel lot in town I might ask them about their computers and medicines

corus, but the thread was not started with the settlements in mind. And the ONLY country that has been mentioned in the context of a boycott is Israel.

It is perfectly reasonable to ask why?

Ah, apologies corus, I see you were making the same point!

The moment anyone critisises Israel the veiled inference that anti-Zionism is a beard for anti-Semitism is always rolled out. Then follow the lazy assuptions that those who care for the plight of Palestinians are uninterested in, or ignorant of, every other brutality or injustice in our World. The patronising, superior tone of such comments is pretty offensive, but the ignorant and casual assumption of anti-Semitism following any adverse comment on Israel is vile.

The G7 are boycotting Russia by refusing to take part in the G8 summit in Sochi.

Boycott The Sun - Hilsborough.

I try very hard not to buy from Amazon - massive damage to high street and tax dodging to boot!
I never buy from Primark.
The CEO of Next has made some pretty nasty comments too so I try not to shop there either.

Re the discussion earlier about supermarkets hurting local independents, well they can be their own worst enemy! Where I live, there is a large population of older people. They rely on the local shops. Come a bit of snow, do the shop owners clear the snow from their 6ft wide shop front? Nope! Then wonder why no-one comes in. Also, when DCs go to a club on weeknight, DH & I try and get a coffee. Are any independents open? Oh no, because it's after 6pm and they won't move with the times. So we go to Costa. Which is heaving. Because there is demand.

Oh and I cancelled my Vodafone contract years ago when they started sponsoring Man UTD

I think part of the reason that Israel is frequently mentioned in the context of a boycott is that the Palestinian international community has been one of the best-organised in the world in raising awareness, conducting visible campaigns and building support and solidarity.

The victims mentioned upthread haven't had the same material resources to draw upon to publicise their campaigns.

Erm...considering the Palestinians themselves have asked activists such as the BDS to end their boycotts, as it is damaging to Palestinians themselves, the 'campaigners' still continue.

That is why it is clear it is nothing to do with Palestinians best interests but rather a campaign against Israel itself

And please, the Palestinian propaganda machine is one of the best there is. You lefty do gooders just don't have a clue. Go to Israel, see the equality, compare it to other Arab nations...then complain if you still believe the hype.

You lefty do gooders just don't have a clue.

Oh, and Israel has always been inhabited by Jews- always. Jews were expelled from every other Arab nation yet Jews live with and give equal rights to Arabs in Israel.

Go educate yourselves.

Why do you think that people who oppose Israeli settlements in the West Bank are uneducated?

I think those who oppose the 'occupied territories' have no concept of how they came about. The soda stream factory is actually disputed land not occupied territory. It falls within Israel's borders according to the geneva convention. But nobody cares...it's Israel after all. Forget the fact that over 500 Palestinians are happily working there with the same rights, pay and benefits as their Israeli colleagues. Some are bosses, some are workers. It should be seen as a beacon of hope rather than something to campaign against!

The soda stream factory is actually disputed land not occupied territory. It falls within Israel's borders according to the geneva convention.

Not according to the United Nations, the European Union, the International Red Cross, and the International Court of Justice.

I think those who oppose the 'occupied territories' have no concept of how they came about.

Well, you're wrong there.