I am French Canadian not religious but with Jewish grandparents.

I do not condone in anyway the Hamas attacks of 7th Oct or the Iranian backed activities of Hezbollah in Lebanon but strewth, you would have to be made of steel to believe what Netanyahu and his warmongering colleagues in government are up to is justified.

Palestine has been under attack since 1946 and that’s the truth and it’s time for action but what are we to do? I watch the news and am consumed by the pain, should we switch it off and get on with life oblivious. These people are sucking the joy out of life for everyone. Now the Lebanese are dragged in 3000 people killed there (probably more) at the hands of the Israelis. And all I can think is when is this butchery going to end. Me an advocate of peace, thinking about assassination as the only answer. That’s what war does, it draws you in. I know there are Jews who know what the state of Israel are doing is profoundly wrong, some are my friends and yet we all feel so powerless to do anything.

I have always been a bit of a quiet agitator when it comes to what I buy and who I support financially as a consumer.

Before the menopause I didn’t buy tampax or tampons at all choosing a Mooncup instead because I knew the companies making them weren’t entirely ethical and because of the reduced impact on the environment the switch away from all that accumulated waste makes over a lifetime.

The reason massive companies like Unilever, who in writing this I discover make Cif found in my own cupboard, Proctor and Gamble, (fairy liquid) Johnson and Johnson (after the baby lotion and powder scandal I have wide birthed them) hold a stable of household brands, all marketed individually and images cleverly placed in our subconscious minds over generations is so consumers don’t connect the activities of the whole and have to do the research themselves to build a true picture of which brands live under which company umbrella.

I have taken the approach over the years to just try not buy branded products at all (of course with exceptions noted above) it’s not easy especially when it comes to household cleaning products and femme care essentials like shampoo, toothpaste (I buy toothpaste tabs instead) deodorant (I have an eco stick) so when boycott lists began emerging, a way of silently but actively protesting and at least doing something when you feel entirely powerless, I found only a few brands on the lists I do consistently buy, Fairy washing up liquid being one, easy to cut out of my shopping trolley.

Reaching peace when so many people have been harmed and aggrieved seems impossible. Both sides have to want to stop which doesn’t appear close to happening. No side wishing to appear weak or to be seen as the loser. The irony war makes everyone the loser and every side the losing side.

It has been reported the fast food chain McDonalds, somewhere we, my family do go once a month, has lost $7 billion dollars in revenue over how long I am unsure, attributed to pro Palestinian boycotts. Whether this is true I don’t know, when we have visited over the last six months the queues have noticably diminished. I think this could be down to the price and the economy more than public protest. I’d like to think people care enough to stop eating their favourite fast foods but honestly I doubt it.

It makes me think of the Lyric from the 1980s War what is it good for absolutely nothing and maybe the activists for peace and education a group I count myself a member of, at least are speaking up and calling out massive multi million dollar global companies who say their interests are purely commercial and in no way political.

It’s time the people with all the money start using some of it for good.

Until then I will continue my silent boycott of most of the brands on the lists, I cannot say I manage to avoid them all, I am not perfect.

I have no ties to the lady who writes the Art Of Palestine Blog on Tumblr. I don’t even know her name. I just came across it, found it interesting and well researched and decided to share it.