Go anti-Jew, go anti-YOU

The last few years have shown us that corporations and merchants, who espouse Woke ideology, more often offend their prospective customers than attract new ones.  Disney was a perfect example. Their Woke policies were so “in your face” that their sales plummeted to an all-time low. The same was true for Bud Light which, after hiring trans woman, Dylan Mulvaney, to represent the company in television ads, saw a massive loss in revenues. Consequently, the saying was born, “Go Woke, Go Broke!”

Guess what! The same concept applies for businesses which foolishly choose to vilify Jews. Take the recent case of a Queensland, Australia incident, where two young Israeli backpackers, who entered the Flinders Tobacco shop, noticed a sign, soliciting money to help Palestinians. Upon inquiring more about it, the enraged shop owner, apparently realizing they were Israelis, dropped a few choice expletives to demand that they leave immediately. On their way out, she called them, “Dirty, xxxxx, filthy Jews,” while following them outside with a shovel in her hand.

It was at that moment that I couldn’t help but think about my Queensland mates, Pete and Sandra, both great lovers of Israel, who not only would boycott the store, if they were tobacco users (which they aren’t), but would probably be tempted to gather a group of their like-minded friends to picket the premises as well.

It turns out that God was not exaggerating when he told Abraham, in Genesis 22:17, that his descendants would be multiplied as the stars of the heaven and the sand on the seashore, because many prospective customers, undoubtedly, also have Jewish blood, as does my friend Pete, whose great-grandfather was a proud Jew.  

But that’s not something that an antisemitic shopkeeper would necessarily consider, when taking the opportunity to express her uncensored comments as to how she feels about Jews. Yet, she should, because once that episode went viral, making its way to the ADC (Anti-Defamation Commission), anyone who is Jewish, has Jewish relatives and friends or is a supporter of Israel, would likely take their business elsewhere, and rightly so.

There is a price to pay for castigating someone’s ethnicity, and that extends to those who reject the intolerance and bigotry which was represented by such outrageous sentiments, as well as those who, themselves, might share even a small percentage of that ethnic gene pool.

Unlike the Queensland shop owner, the franchise holder of “Second Cup, a Canadian coffee chain, responded to an incident of antisemitism, over the weekend, in a completely different way. Wasting no time, she “terminated the contract of a franchisee in Montreal after she was filmed making a Nazi salute while wearing a keffiyeh during pro-Palestinian protests last week.”

Understanding that such a representative would hurt the brand, the owner immediately cut ties with that individual, stating that such behavior “violated the values of inclusion and community for which the company stands.”

When it comes to public relations matters, it’s always best to remember that “more is better,” meaning - keep as many customers as possible! The folly of open vilification can only be explained by the irrational phenomenon of placing ideology above profit – something that can only hurt a seller, foolish enough to engage in this kind of suicidal business practice. It goes against every rule of commerce, which seeks to attract buyers, hoping to make repeat customers out of them.

Unless a merchant is not dependent upon their business as a principle means of income, why would anyone alienate, not only a particular ethnicity but also, those who are sympathetic to and supportive of them?

However, putting the economic aspect of it aside, why would someone also be willing to risk their reputation in a viral world where what you say to one person can later be amplified to the entire planet? Of course, there are always those who will agree with and cheer such bigoted and enflamed sentiments, but the tarred legacy of the offender will live on forever, marking the speaker as an ignorant racist whose opinions are dark and evil.

Unfortunately, people who express those kinds of hateful attitudes often exhibit the kind of intimidating influence which cause others to shrink from taking a stand for what is right, and while that is regrettable, it doesn’t require much bravery to decide to spend your money elsewhere when someone chooses to go public with their ugly prejudice.  

In fact, the power possessed by the customer speaks volumes. It sends a strong and irrefutable message that their vile and warped views of others, with whom they’ve probably had almost no meaningful interaction, are not the shared beliefs of civilized and educated people. This is the best kind of opposition in today’s world - one which impacts the wallet and rejects an inhumane response to others who are different, on the one hand, but the same, inasmuch as they, too, are people worthy of respect.

It is the only chance we have of influencing the haters while, not risking our own safety by getting into a physical or verbal fight with them. This kind of input is crucial in letting individuals know that such incidents are reminiscent of “the darkest pages of history – a venomous and shameful outburst, dripping with hatred, teetering on the edge of violence,” sentiments expressed by Dr. Dvir Abromovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, who so eloquently condemned the incident.

Abromovich further went on to say that, “the emotional scars inflicted on these young tourists will remain with them forever, following the fear and humiliation they must have felt as they were attacked with words and weapons alike.”  

Of course, one can only imagine the reactions of the nearly 5,000 Jews, who reside in Queensland, as they wonder how many of their neighbors might also harbor those same feelings of disgust towards members of their community. It’s a sad day when someone feels emboldened enough to implicate an entire population of 5,000 Jews as being dirty and filthy.  

Ironically, it is the product being sold by the shopkeeper which is responsible for dirtying the body by its continued use whose wrappers are required to ominously warn that tobacco use causes death. Through the product she sells, it would appear that this Queensland shopkeeper not only cares little for the body, but her words indicate that she also has no regard for the soul of others.