The Yesha (“Judea, Samaria and Gaza”) Council intends to soon launch a shopping website to allow consumers to purchase products made in West Bank settlements, including dates, soaps, textiles and prepared foods. This is in part in response to the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.
According to the plan, the new website will use the same software that other leading shopping websites, such as Amazon and eBay, use.
The Yesha Council is promoting the new initiative as a “boycott detour, ” referring to the BDS movement’s calls to boycott the very products that they will offer to sell.
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Oded Revivi, the mayor of Efrat and the head of the Yesha Council’s foreign desk, is behind the initiative. He commented, “We quickly understood that we have to think outside the box…so we developed this model, which allows us to reach the customer’s house abroad without going through the whole route of delegitimization that products from Judea and Samaria go through in the world.”
In addition to selling products, it will also sell travel packages to the West Bank. Religious tours will also be offered in an attempt to meet a need for groups that want to visit historical sites and incorporate religious themes, which will include faiths beyond Judaism.
The initiative is currently in the final stages of development. They are currently seeking the seed money to begin operating the site. In the coming weeks, the Yesha Council intends to send invitations for business owners to join the site.
