We all have certain sayings, idioms and visuals that
are engrained in our minds, making the reality of our
younger years a cohesive history. One of those, for
me, is ‘Buy Blue and White’ or in Hebrew
(as I can still hear it in my head): Knu Kachol Lavan.
The rationale behind it was connecting the blue and
white Israeli flag colors with the pride of buying something
that’s your own and can support your country.
It was a campaign that ran in Israel of the seventies
(?), aiming to convince shoppers to buy Israeli grown,
Israeli produced, and Israeli made products, so the
country’s ever so fragile economy can strive,
or at list root itself deeper.
I recently found that call again:
Chief Rabbis Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron and Yisrael Meir Lau
ask the public to buy Israeli products. Following a
meeting with Industry and Trade Minister Dalia Itzik,
who is pushing the campaign to "buy blue-and-white"
(Israel's official colors), the rabbis issued a call
that was read in synagogues throughout the country on
the Shavuot holiday this past Friday. "In light
of the economic situation," the rabbis wrote, "when
factories are being closed, unemployment is growing,
and many families can barely afford to put food on the
table, we are commanded to fulfill the verse, 'If your
brother falters, strengthen him, that he may live with
you.' It is incumbent upon us to help our brothers who
face financial difficulties, and enable them to live
honorably before they require charity. During these
days of trouble both nationally and individually, we
must be careful to buy Israeli-made products."
- From Arutz 7
It has been quite a few years and some shopping sprees
since then, I no longer live my day to day life in Israel,
but I still get excited when I see Israeli grown bell
peppers at Costco or the ‘made in Israel’
tag on a hotel towel. I certainly prefer made-in-Israel
products and the reason for that is pride.
I take pride at what my people have managed to accomplish
even though we are a young, small country, a melting
pot which dwellers tend to argue everything an about
everything, a nation of people uprooted and exiled so
many times and for so many generations. Even with all
these hurdles, we managed to produce, to build, to recreate
and regroup, to create a future for ourselves.
So next time, when you see a made-in- Israel product
on the shelf at Costco, a made in Israel fruit or lotion
at Trader Joe’s, a hotel that uses made-in-Israel
towels or other products, take a stand and stand with
Israel, support the people who are building peace in
the middle east, support people who believe in giving
and doing, even when routinely attacked and repeatedly
assaulted by terror. The fields in the Negev are blooming,
the startups in Haifa and Tel Aviv are busily inventing
new programs, and the Sderot factories keep yielding
quality products and high spirits.
So when I need a house warming gift for a Jewish couple,
I prefer the beautiful mezuzah covers that are vivid
and colorful, made in Israel by Yair Emanuel who designs
and crafts these extraordinary mezuzahs in his studio
in Jerusalem. At that price, my gift looks sophisticated
but does not eat up my budget, even though it’s
imported and artisan made. For the newlywed I opt for
something pricier, a silver Kiddush cup made in…
you guessed it: Israel and my girlfriends get an Orna
Lallo art or one of Iris Design’s marvelous pieces.
I can’t wait for my son to be Bar Mitzvah, as
I already know which Tallit I’m going to surprise
him with.
May we enjoy our lives, meet only in happy events and
have enough to support good causes.
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