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If the shoe fits…L’ignorance, la haine et le boycottage - The Métropolitain

If the shoe fits…L’ignorance, la haine et le boycottage

By Dan Delmar on December 27, 2010

Les boycotts sont souvent puérils et inefficaces. En politique extérieure, ils n’ont pas plus de valeur que le geste d’un enfant braillard qui interrompt le jeu et rentre à la maison avec son ballon. En matière de boycott, de nouveaux critères d'immaturité et d'ignorance viennent d’être tracés par Palestiniens et Juifs unis (PAJU), groupe soutenu par le député de Québec solidaire Amir Khadir.

Don’t let the name fool you: PAJU is a radical pro-Palestinian group that aims to unite Palestinian and Jews only in their hatred for the state of Israel and all those who, even passively, support it. Along with Khadir, they are working to transform St. Denis into what they call an “Apartheid-free zone.”  Cette déclaration m’a beaucoup étonné, car j’ignorais jusque-là qu'un régime d’apartheid existait dans une rue commerciale branchée du Plateau. Heureusement, la vigilance de PAJU nous permet de pointer du doigt un défenseur de l’apartheid sur la rue St-Denis : il s’appelle Yves Archambault et vend des chaussures.

Archambault and his family own Le Marcheur, a shoe store that carries one line imported from Israel called Beautifeel. Upon being presented with this information, a rational person would think the following: “Who gives a shit?” En faisant du piquetage devant  Le Marcheur sous le prétexte fallacieux que ce commerce ose importer des chaussures d'un pays contrôlé par ce qu'ils considèrent être un régime d’apartheid, les membres de PAJU et Khadir se comportent d’une manière tout à fait irrationnelle.

Why are some pro-Palestinian activists obsessed with the Apartheid comparison as of late? Partly because former US president Jimmy Carter and South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu have also used the analogy and Montreal’s angry activists are all to eager to act as thoughtless, squawking parrots if it serves their anti-Israel agenda. Naturally, they ignore the rational arguments that make the comparison invalid: There are no mass killings of Palestinians (though some would label casualties of war as such); Arab-Israelis have the right to vote and are represented in the Knesset; Arabic is an official language in Israel and displayed on every road sign; and so forth. There are Arab Muslim judges and diplomat as well. That being said, this is not a blanket endorsement of all Israeli policy, which has been known to be heavy-handed and disruptive, to say the least, to the quality of life of Palestinians in the West Bank. This is rather a call for Montrealers to reject the demonization of all things Israel simply because they are Israeli. It smacks of appalling ignorance and, I fear, there could also be elements of anti-Semitism boiling under the surface.  But mainly this boycott is nothing if not hateful and irrational.  Khadir, qui se comporte de manière puérile — et qui boycotte non seulement des chaussures, mais qui s’amuse à les lancer sur des photos de George W. Bush — affirme ne pas vouloir punir Archambault pour avoir importé des chaussures israéliennes, mais plutôt pour lui faire prendre conscience des injustices dont il il se fait ainsi complice. Permettez-moi à mon tour de faire l’éducation de M. Khadir qui, en ce moment même, porte sans doute quelque pièce de vêtement fabriquée en Chine, pays qui pratique quotidiennement la torture et la censure, mais qui jouit sur Israël d’un immense avantage : les Chinois ne sont pas juifs.

The following is a partial list of Israeli innovations exported to the rest of the World over the past few decades that Khadir will also have to boycott, or risk being labelled a hypocrite: Intel computer processor chips, firewall software, Google’s search algorithm, instant messengers, the cell phone, voicemail, Tsunami warning systems, acne treatment, breast cancer detection equipment…When Khadir Googles himself every night before bed to bask in the glorious amount of publicity he’s received that day, he is also tacitly supporting the so-called Apartheid state of Israel – perhaps twice! Armed with this newfound information, Montreal activists, the next logical step would be to boycott Amir Khadir. 

Vous voyez, il suffit d’un peu d’imagination pour mener une rhétorique de diabolisation jusqu’à des sommets d’absurdité. Plus le démon est monstrueux, plus l’indignation grandit. À moins d’être complètement insensés, M. Khadir et les militants de PAJU ne peuvent pourtant ignorer que leurs manifestations n’exercent  aucune influence sur la politique de l’État d'Israël, et ne font pas avancer d’un poil la cause palestinienne. Elles pourraient toutefois avoir chez nous  un impact très réel.

It is difficult enough for small business owners in Montreal to compete against multi-national chains and big box stores; now, apparently, they have activist-losers to contend with. Will Archambault have to vigorously monitor his stock to make sure that even the tiny plastic bit wrapped around the tip of a shoelace has had absolutely no connection to Israel, lest these pests picket his store during the prime Christmas shopping season? Le choix des chaussures de M. Archambault est une simple décision d’affaire, qui n’a rien à voir avec la politique. Aucun commerçant québécois ne devrait être soumis au traitement insensé qu’il doit subir actuellement. Je le félicite d’être demeuré ferme face à ces manifestations, se disant « dégoûté » par les affiches et ajoutant que « personne n'a le droit de me dire ce que je peux et ne peux pas me vendre dans mon magasin. » 

Khadir is an elected official who should, in theory, represent Quebecers of all nationalities, regardless of their footwear. With this boycott, he is clearly spelling out his contempt for things in Quebec that are even vaguely connected to Israel and that makes him inherently prejudiced. He can no longer serve his constituents with any semblance of credibility or maturity. I would suggest Khadir take his ball and go home, but the ball is probably derived from petroleum products imported from the Middle East – so, let’s not go there.


 

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