Israel Matzav

How the BDS movement hurts 'Palestinians'

'Palestinians' and revenants (what most of you call 'settlers') work together at dozens of factories all over Judea and Samaria. But of course, you won't read about it in the New York Times or London's Daily Guardian.

One hundred and thirty-four employees arrive at the Rami Levy supermarket in Shaar Binyamin every morning from around the area. Some of them come by bus from the towns of Beit-El, Kochav Yaakov, and Adam, while others, 60 in number, arrive in orange taxis from the villages of Hizma and Anata or by foot from the nearby Jab'a.

"We're kind of a family," said the store manager, Uzi Sharon. "There are no classes here. During the work, we forget what each person's extraction is. It really isn't important."

In one of the departments, Halef from Jab'a and Avi from Adam sit next to each other. Every interaction between the two of them is accompanied by a friendly hug. "He's like my big brother," said Halef, the department manager. "After all, we live just hundreds of meters from one another."

"He's my best friend here," said Avi. "If we had the option, we would spend every Saturday together with the families."

Okay, so you've all heard about Rami Levy before (another branch, but that's beside the point). Well, it's not just Rami Levy.

Abed al-Magrabe and Pini Huminar have known each other for years. Together they have experienced days of quiet and days of terror. It sometimes seemed like everything was falling apart in front of their eyes, but ultimately, their friendship won out.

Pini is the owner of a laundromat in Efrat. Abed and his brother Mohammad work for him as ironers. "There are no other employees like them," said Pini enthusiastically. "Jews don't like it. It's a different mentality. All of Efrat knows them. They are part of the town."

In 2002, a Palestinian terrorist who worked in the town blew himself up in a commercial center. On instructions from the IDF, Pini was forced to fire the brothers. "For two years, I had Jewish employees who gave me a hard time," he said. "Two years later, just before Passover, there was an insane work load, and my employee decided to go home. I fired him on the spot. Left with no other alternative, I drove to al-Aroub to Mohammad's house. I brought him on the hush, without a permit. He saved the day, and ever since, Mohammad is here with a retroactive permit."

This week, Mohammad took vacation for Ramadan. Abed decided to stay on and work, managing Efrat's dirty laundry.

"Sometimes in the morning I tell Pini of my experiences, how there were IDF arrests in the village overnight," said Abed. "We talk about everything, even politics. We argue. We don't come to any agreements, but we maintain respect. We have an interest in making a livelihood, and life is stronger than anything else."

The al-Aroub refugee camp is considered hostile, but the al-Magrabe household is located on the main road, so Pini can stop by for a visit. Over the years, Pini and the brothers have woven together a unique relationship. They attend all of each other's family events.

"Except for Abed's wedding, which was at the height of the intifada," said Pini. "Now during Ramadan, I am considerate of them and give them vacation or allow them to leave early if they want. I already know exactly when their holidays fall according to the Hebrew date."

There are many more factories in which 'Palestinians' and revenants work together, including the Psagot Winery (bottle pictured above). Someone better tell all those BDS morons that they're going to put 'Palestinians' out of work with their boycotts.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:33 PM