Buy Israel Goods week starts today, Monday February 25!

From our friends at San Francisco Voice for Israel:

                                              Buy Israel Goods week starts Monday February 25!

Once again, it's time for a BIG week-- Buy Israeli Goods.

One of the most important things we can do to support Israel is not only to buy Israeli goods, but to buy them from merchants who have been the target of BDS bullies because they sell them.

As many of you have read in J Weekly  or seen on our Facebook page, two weeks ago we quietly organized a group of shoppers to support Cliff's Variety, a small family-owned store in the Castro district of San Francisco that has specifically been targeted by the BDS hate crew for defying their orders and continuing to sell Sodastream devices and mixes. Watch this short clip  to see how SodaStream promotes coexistence, and meet some of the Arab employees whose jobs the BDSers want to take away.

The staff at Cliff's was delighted to see several dozen shoppers (carrying Buy Israeli Goods shopping bags) coming in to buy from them to thank them for standing up to BDS intimidation. And once again, a positive, friendly BUYcott overcame a negative, hate-filled BOYcott effort.

Especially for San Francisco residents, those who wish to buy a Sodastream device (or need to stock up on the mixes) will get a very friendly welcome at Cliff's Variety (479 Castro St between 17th and 18th).

Another small, locally owned store repeatedly targeted by hate groups is Zand Market at 1401 Solano Avenue in Albany. They not only carry imported goods but also their own Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods.

A partial listing of stores that carry Israeli products is at BuyIsraelGoods.org (note that some of the information there may not be current).

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Persian Pastries are Much Cooler Than Hate and Vandalism

A friend e-mailed to let me know that Zand's on Solano Avenue had a BDS sign, saying "End Apartheid, Boycott Israeli Goods" in the window, and my first reaction was "Aw, heck, say it ain't so!"

Luckily, it wasn't so.

Zand's is on Solano Avenue in Albany. They sell delicious Persian baked goods, and for a little store, a stunning variety of Middle Eastern food products, including many Israeli goods. I cherish them as a local source of red lentils for soup, and also for introducing me to the amazing Mashti Malone ice cream. So when I heard that they were apparently signing on to the vicious, bigoted and irrational boycott of Israeli goods, I was rather alarmed. This might mean I never had any Mashti Malone ice cream again.

However, a quick investigation revealed that the sign was not inside the window, but a sticker OUTSIDE the window, where it had been slapped on over the remains of the last several stickers that had been removed by the proprietor. The owners, Persian Muslims, plan to continue to stock great Middle Eastern food from everywhere in the region, despite petty vandalism and petty hate.

Now, this is the best-tasting mitzvah you will ever do--if you're anywhere nearby, go to Zand's, tell them how much you appreciate their stocking Israeli goods, and buy some pistachio baklava and a pint of Mashti Malone's rosewater sorbet. There. Didn't that feel good?