Returning Fire: Dutch Jews Boycott Anti-Israel Firm
Dutch Jews are making it clear they don’t intend to take the economic assault on Israel quietly. A group of young Jewish activists in the country have started a counter-boycott movement to make local firms feel the pinch for their discrimination against the Jewish state.
The Dutch pension asset manager PGGM, one of the largest in the country, announced in early January that it was divesting from five Israeli banks because they finance “Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.” The firm manages about 153 billion euros ($208 billion dollars) in funds.
In response, a group of young Dutch Jewish professionals called Tradition is Our Future (TOF) have have launched a boycott of their own. The group, whose goal is to defend Jewish life in the Netherlands, decided to take action after the PGGM divestment while noting a recent wave of anti-Israel fomentation.
Some examples of this wave include Vitens, the largest drinking water company in Holland, which declared last December it was cutting ties with the Israeli water company Mekorot due to its presence in Judea and Samaria. In early January, the premier Dutch soccer team Vitesse left for training in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), leaving behind its best defender Dan Mori after UAE authorities refused to allow him into the country for being an Israeli.
“We are afraid that this is just the beginning, and therefore we need to take counter measurements. We call upon you to help us to boycott those who boycott Israel,” declared TOF.
http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2014/02/06/returning-fire-dutch-jews-boycott-anti-israel-firm/