Be consistent in boycott demands, Saltzman tells Moosa

ROBYN SASSEN

“The woman was hounding me,” he told the SA Jewish Report in a phone interview this week. “She wanted to know when I would stop selling Israeli products. She took exception to my response and circulated my e-mail to the press.”

After visiting Dis-Chem’s Westwood Mall branch in Durban, Moosa had submitted an online letter, asking the company to remove the products on the basis that Israel’s “human rights violations replicate Hitler’s Nazism” as she is “a South African who lived under oppression”.

Dis-Chem responded that the products would not be removed. Moosa then demanded her e-mail be forwarded to top management, adding: “It is easy for us to rise to the defence of our brethren, but the nobler response is to do what’s right, even if it is unpopular.

“Jews of many organisations have nobly distanced themselves from the Israeli regime and have been at the forefront of the call for sanctions against Israel… I hope your commitment to values enshrined in the Torah allow you to make the right decision. After all, we are all children of Abraham.”

Saltzman responded to Moosa in an e-mail, taking exception to the reference to Nazism, but adding: “Israel goes to extraordinary lengths to minimise civilian casualties. Palestinian casualties have been a fraction of what they would have been if Israel had adopted a Nazi-like extermination policy, given the massive military capability it has at its disposal.

“It is easy to identify modern-day Nazis in the Middle East. They are in the ranks of extremist groupings like Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestine Islamic Jihad, all of which regard the mass murder of Jews as the noblest goal their followers can aspire to.

“Have you thought about the consequences if Israel adopted these tactics against Palestinians? Fortunately Israel, no matter what the provocation, has not, nor will not stoop to such depths.

“So far as your stated intention of boycotting Dis-Chem goes, that is your decision: we live in a free country. However, you must be consistent, if your gesture is to have meaning. I hope you don’t use an Intel chip in your computer: it was invented in Israel.

“I hope you stay in good health because if you need surgery against a heart attack, you must boycott the procedure: the stent was invented in Israel! Likewise, I hope you are never prescribed a patch for diabetes. If you are an asthmatic you may have to use a new inhaler invented in Israel.

“Israel has given the world drip irrigation which is widely adopted in SA. You should boycott all fruit and vegetables grown by this method. Check carefully what you boycott.

“I will continue to sell Dead Sea products from Israel. The Dead Sea has two shores. I wonder why the Jordanians or Palestinians do not want to share this wonderful natural resource.”

Saltzman told us: “At the time of this interchange there were a few protests outside the store, and then things went quiet, but I got lots of support from the Jewish and non-Jewish community.”

He suspects either the consumer herself or her community to be responsible for the exchange recently resurfacing. “It’s gone viral mainly on Independent Online. I have received over a thousand e-mails of support from local Christians and Jews and ex-South Africans overseas.

“This type of boycott does have a small effect on our business,” he agrees. “Certain people have taken their scripts from Dis-Chem. And staff in branches in Durban, Pretoria and Vereeniging have been hassled. But in the long run, if a victory is reached, it will only be a symbolic one.

“The BDS campaign seems to be focusing on a small number of retailers at a time. I cannot sufficiently stress how important it is for friends of Israel to show support for other retailers, and inspire them to ignore these protesters,” he added.