Why we should all boycott

THE war in Gaza is changing everything in our lives even though we live miles away from the place of the real conflict we feel the pain of our brothers and sisters who are being slaughtered while the whole world is watching.

Therefore the recent call to boycott some Western companies who support the Israeli regime is the least we can do, especially with some of these companies bragging about donating free burgers to the soldiers who kill babies and civilians while others used wrapping papers with the Israeli flag.

Yet this in-your-face bias is only part of the picture which included banning protesters from holding demonstrations in support of Palestinians and ignoring calls for a ceasefire.

The worst part is that such actions came from countries that always talked about freedom of speech.

There is no doubt that the current war exposed the double standards expressed by some countries and the helplessness of the United Nations in coming up with any form of action to protect the lives of millions trapped in Gaza.

They are living with no electricity or clean water, even foreign aid is limited despite the warning of nongovernmental organisations of the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza.

So why should we boycott companies that stand with the Israeli regime? The simple answer is that by continuing to buy from such companies you are funding the war against your brothers and sisters even though such companies clearly announced that they are feeding the soldiers for free from your money.

Some would say these companies have huge profits from other countries and boycotting it may not achieve much, well this notion is false as big companies care more about making more profits and getting more money plus when you announce your intentions to boycott you are encouraging others to follow you for the good cause.

Some people may think your decision to boycott is simply to punish the companies, but it is more than that.

It is about standing for your values and making an impact even if it is at a smaller scale for your action to make an impact. Do not stop at boycotting small companies that sell food but think about changing your holiday destination since the country that you plan to visit and spend money is funding the government that kills babies and destroys hospitals and schools unless you want to be part of that.

From a psychological perspective, there are three conditions for a boycott to be successful, it needs to be organised with a clear message sent out through petitions, and messaging on social media.

So, the boycotted companies attribute their scale decline to consumer outrage.

Second, the boycott must have a clear goal which in this case is to stop supporting the war against Gaza.

Third, boycotts should send the message that a behaviour is morally unacceptable, rather than merely disagreeable.

Viewing boycotts as a matter of expression can change our understanding of why we should join a boycott.

Remember that people in some Western countries are actively searching for the maker of certain products and making sure not to buy those supporting Israelis so what is your excuse?