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What’s in Those Gift Packages From Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer?

If you’re lucky, you received goods from the occupied territories totaling $71.93

by
Jonathan Zalman
December 23, 2015

It’s the holidays—you know, Christmas and New Year’s—and Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer is in a merry mood. “This year, I decided to send a gift for the holiday that would also help combat BDS,” he tweeted on Monday, along with the image of the gift box and a letter to its recipients. The letter was sweet, like candy canes, and reminded readers that the gift was intended to “combat the latest effort by Israel’s enemies to destroy the one and only Jewish state…the BDS movement.”

These BDS “fanatics” and “fools,” wrote Dermer, “are promoting a new anti-Semitism,” citing the recent decision by the EU to label goods manufactured in the Israeli-occupied territories. Dermer called the decision “shameful” and “unfair” and in response, he sent out products made in Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights to thwart portrayals of Israel as anything but “a beacon of freedom, tolerance, and decency.”

So what exactly is in these gift boxes? Here’s a rundown in USD**:

Mount Herman Wine, from the Golan Heights Winery (2014). Cost: $14.99.

Olea Essence Extra Virgin Olive Oil, from the Sea of Galilee. Cost: $13.00.

Ahava Precious Mineral Crystal, from the Dead Sea. Cost: $20.00.

Achva Halva Snacks variety box, from somewhere occupied. Cost: $23.94.

The cost of human suffering due to the illegal occupation of Arab lands (not pictured below). Priceless.

**Total cost for each package is $71.93, which does not include shipping or the cost of the box or those frizzy trimmings. Purchase does not assure you will receive the package in time for Christmas.

Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.