Harvard University Dining Services Boycotts Israeli Company
12.17.2014 |
News
| Daniel Mael |
The Harvard University Dining Service capitulated to anti-Israel protestors and will cease to use water machines produced by the Israeli company SodaStream according to a report in the Harvard Crimson.
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Following student group complaints and internal discussions, Harvard University Dining Services has decided to suspend purchases of appliances from a company involved in an international settlement dispute.
Until last April, HUDS had been purchasing water machines from a company recently acquired by SodaStream, an Israeli company that specializes in do-it-yourself soda and water machines. Sodastream’s main factory is located on the West Bank, a settlement at the heart of conflicts between Israel and Palestine regarding land ownership in the area. The company, which announced in October that it will move its factory to southern Israel, has drawn criticism and boycotts for its location in disputed territory.
Last fall, some members of the College Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Harvard Islamic Society noticed that the filtered water machines in certain dining halls had Sodastream labels on them. Citing discomfort with the machines and the potential of the machines to offend those affected by the Israel-Palestine conflict, the students emailed House masters and tutors to arrange a meeting with University officials to have the machines removed.
SodaStream has come under relentless attack from proponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement who seek to block co-existence and a better future for Israelis and Palestinians. BDS seeks to paint Israel as demonic, with the hope that eventually it will cease to exist as a Jewish state and the Jews will return to being a stateless minority.
Rachel Sandalow-Ash, a leader of the anti-Israel campus organization "Open Hillel" who was also named one of the Forward's Top-50 people of 2014, was quick to applaud the motion, telling the Crimson," it is neither anti-Israel nor anti-Semite to take stand against the occupation.”
Sandalow-Ash's position is in opposition to many Palestinians who are employed by SodaStream and support the company. SodaStream also recently announced that the company is moving from the Disputed Territories rendering Sandalow-Ash's claim against the company's presence in Judea and Samaria out of date.
She then used Orwellian doublespeak, claiming that the use of the machines is a "microaggression to Palestinian students."
“These micro boycotts are more dangerous than open, broad-based BDS resolutions, because they are sneakier and more deceptive,” Kenneth Marcus, President of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Center told Truth Revolt. “Well-meaning progressives sometimes buy into them without realizing that they are effectively joining forces with the entire BDS movement and all of its anti-Semitic ramifications.”
Marcus then noted the significance of Sandalow-Ash's role in the boycott of SodaStream. "The involvement of an Open Hillel leader is telling. It suggests how easy it is for the open Hillel movement to become a front for BDS activists."
"Open Hillel’s rhetoric is all about openness and inclusion, but what this incident illustrates is that they too often turn out to be about exclusion and marginalization of the Jewish state," he added.
Holly Bicerano, a former Open Hillel leader, recently exposed the organization as a pro-BDS group that seeks to demonize Israel and block pro-Israel voices.
The Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) responded to the decision by HUDS by reaching out to university president Drew Gilpin Faust urging the school to repurchase SodaStream products.
"Respectfully, we ask that you clarify why HUDS has suspended purchases from the Israel-based firm SodaStream and investigate what elements went into this decision making process," wrote ICC president Jacob Baime. "Boycotting a company for being incorporated in Israel inappropriately targets Israeli citizens for being Israeli. It is blatantly discriminatory to boycott private businesses and individuals on the basis of nationality."
"The BDS movement seeks to demonize, isolate and destroy Israel as a Jewish state. It is a pro-hate, anti-peace movement. BDS proponents actively advocate for the privilege of one group's rights over another," he added. Harvard University and HUDS are creating an environment that Israelis could rightfully perceive as hostile. If the presence of Israeli-made goods on campus creates discomfort for Harvard, then so, too, could the presence of Israeli students and academics."
"Harvard has a tremendous reputation as a school of choice for Israelis. Its international prestige is second to none, which is all the more reason that we are disturbed by officials ceding ground to extremists."
