Invest – not Divest – in I-S-R-A-E-L

In light of the disturbing reports we are seeing and hearing regarding the BDS campaign, our natural response is to ask ourselves, “How are we to respond?” This newsletter is meant to be both informative and interactive, with aims to equip you with ideas and tools to become active participants in support for Israel. By using the name Israel, we created six courses of action you can take to raise awareness, educate, and counter boycotts against Israel, each one addressing a different platform of the BDS campaign. Every one of you is within your own circle of influences and abilities; we are asking that in whatever way you are capable to join us in standing for truth and justice for all of the people living in the Land.

I– INVEST IN ISRAELI ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS

S-SHOP FOR ISRAELI PRODUCTS

R-RAISE SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI ARTISTS AND SPEAKERS

A-APPEAL TO YOUR CONGREGATIONS AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES

E-EDUCATE OTHERS ABOUT THE TRUTH OF ISRAEL

L-LOVE ONE ANOTHER

I– INVEST IN ISRAELI ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS

• Invest financially in Israeli institutions or partnerships that Israel has with universities worldwide.
• For those who are students, faculty, or staff at a university, or have connections with those at a university, raise this important issue to others and see if similar activity is going on in your region.
• Connect with Jewish or Christian groups on campus and create an informative, non-violent campaign to tell the truth about Israel.
• Send a letter to the president or administration of universities that are witnessing anti-Semitic behavior and express an ardent denouncement of any and all individuals and/or groups that partake in this kind of activity.

S-SHOP FOR ISRAELI PRODUCTS

On a practical level, we need to respond to boycotts with our purchasing power.

• Shop with a purpose. In the same way that BDS activists go door to door to local grocery and retail stores to demand the removal of products made in Israel, you can request Israeli products and brands that have economic ties with Israel.

• For those who live in Europe, you can use the labeling of products from Israel to your advantage to easily identify which products to buy instead of boycott.

• An avenue close to the heart of Hope for Israel is through Holy Land Marketplace, a company setup by believers in Messiah that sells goods and products made in Israel by Israeli believers in the Land. By purchasing through the website at http://holylandmarketplace.com/ you can not only financially support believers in Israel, but also support the mission of Hope for Israel.
• Download a phone application called Am Yisrael Buy, whose design is to help users locate and buy Israeli products.
• Thousands of multi-national corporations have significant investments in Israel. These are the very companies that are targeted by BDS activists to pressure them into boycott and divestments. Below are a few well-known corporations that you can continue to exercise your purchasing power.

1. SodaStream runs a factory in the Palestinian territories which employees both Palestinians and Israelis receiving the same wages.
2. Ahava, Dead Sea cosmetic products from Israel, exports to 45 countries worldwide.
3. Sabra and Tribe Hummus are Israeli brands that sell hummus worldwide.
4. Hewlett-Packard (HP) sells biometric technology used for Israeli security.
5. Motorola sells surveillance equipment to Israel.
6. Intel has total investments in Israel reaching $10 billion and receives grants from the Israeli government.
7. Procter & Gamble Pampers diapers supplies diaper products to Israeli companies.
8. Ace hardware is one of Israel’s leading retail chains for home improvement and design with 28 branches nationwide.
9. Johnson and Johnson received the Jubilee Award by the Israeli Prime Minister in recognition of those organizations whose investments and trade relationships have done the most to strengthen the economy.

R-RAISE SUPPORT FOR ARTISTS AND SPEAKERS

Oftentimes, musicians, speakers, authors and artists of all kinds are petitioned and harassed by boycott activists attempting to persuade them from performing in Israel. The same runs true outside of Israel in efforts to persuade event coordinators to refuse Israeli or Jewish performers from attending. How can we respond to this?

• We can be on alert about artists that have been invited to perform in Israel and use social media outlets to encourage them to stay the course.
• Write to record companies or agents expressing your support for Israel and desire for the artists’ to show solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people.
• Use your own media outlets to encourage personal friends and family to also raise support for artists and speakers.

A-APPEAL TO YOUR CONGREGATIONS AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES

• Discuss with your congregational leaders and community about this growing concern to explore ways you and your community can address it.
• Churches and communities of believers should be the first place where a love for Israel can be planted and grow. Believers and congregational leaders can show their love and support through educational teachings, sermons and organized tours to Israel.
• Call or write a letter to your local county, state and/or national political representatives in support of Israel. This year, South Carolina became the first U.S. state to pass a law barring public entities from contracting with companies that engage in the “boycott of a person or an entity based in or doing business with a jurisdiction with whom South Carolina can enjoy open trade.” Other states are following suit.

E-EDUCATE OTHERS ABOUT THE TRUTH OF ISRAEL

Education is one of the most crucial aspects surrounding the BDS campaign. False information, propaganda and downright lies about the Jewish State are oftentimes what draw well-meaning people into the BDS movement. Israel is always in need of more ambassadors to become well-informed educators about the biblical truth and realities of events taking place in Israel. We encourage you to talk about how first, to become educated, and secondly, to spread that knowledge with your family, friends and community.

• Become educated.
• Become an ambassador.
• Declare the Truth.

 L-LOVE ONE ANOTHER

 For believers who profess a faith in God and belief in His Son Yeshua, it is crucial that we let the Bible be our guide for understanding God’s plan and how we, as His children, are to be a part of those plans. We must let the Word of God, and not the world, teach us what justice is and how it is brought about. These principles apply in every aspect of our lives, likewise in the way that we approach our understanding of Israel and addressing individuals or movements that seek to delegitimize the right of the Jewish state to exist.

As we engage the BDS campaign, we need to conduct ourselves in truth and love, making every effort that we are in all ways a light to the world. In order to truly make a counter-movement, we must use our time and our resources to put our beliefs into action. We will not use the same tactics of persuasion and hostility, but we ask that those of you who believe in the building up of the State of Israel, rather than tearing it down, will ultimately fortify the nation and all its inhabitants into a future where peace and unity can found.

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 1 John 2:18-19