Of course, the recent demonstration in Woodstock against Ahava products caused some consternation. You have a group committed to freeing the Palestinian people from occupation and apartheid oppression and you have a group that puts the interests of Israel above anything else. When you get both groups in the same place, there will be some shouting and name calling.
But this is the way change happens in a democracy. Think about the freedom rides and lunch counter sit-ins during the Civil Rights Era. Or the boycott of South African goods and investments during apartheid. People demonstrating in the streets for human rights made the issues clearer for the general public.
Ahava is made in the occupied West Bank. When a person buys Ahava products, the money makes its way back to an Israeli settlement that is illegal under international law. The settlement is illegal, as well as the exploitation for profit of the land's natural resources.
If peace is ever to come to the Middle East, Israel must end its occupation of the West Bank, lands taken during the 1967 war. Buying products made by Israelis in this occupied territory does the opposite; it perpetuates the occupation.
If you would like to see what other products profit from the apartheid treatment of Palestinians, go to http://www.hudsonvalleybds.org. BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions, a non-violent way to get Israel to do the right thing in the Middle East. Join us if you value peace and human rights for all people, regardless of race, religion or ethnic identity.
Fred Nagel