Illegal Entry

What are Israeli sweets doing in Sidon? How did they reach the heart of the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp?

According to newspaper reports, this candy was distributed to shops with wrappers indicating that they were “made in Syria and Turkey.” When this packaging was removed, the original wrapper appeared with Hebrew writing.

This is not the first time that Israeli products have intruded into our daily lives.

For example, those who work in shops importing American or European clothes know very well that some of the famous names are made in enemy factories in occupied Palestine and their labels clearly say “made in Israel.” Moreover, their bosses make them pick out the clothes and remove the labels, threatening to fire them if they told anyone.

Activists in the boycott movement regard this law as outdated, needing to be modernized to include academic and artistic boycotts, which would play a principal role in delegitimizing Israel internationally.

There are also some Lebanese who denounce the principle of boycott. Some of them do not view Israel as an enemy, while others might even boast of their friendships with Israelis they met abroad (and perhaps here) and praise how “civilized” they are, while the Arabs are so “backward.”

But let us take the opportunity to mark the anniversary of the liberation of the South by the Resistance to remind them and ourselves that the Zionist entity is the enemy, the occupier and the aggressor. That we are committed to boycotting all its products, even when they sneak in under a Syrian or Turkish cover.

Rami Zurayk is Al-Akhbar's environment columnist and author of the blog Land and People.

The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect Al-Akhbar's editorial policy.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.