Editorial: Physics, not rocket science

Issue of April 10, 2009 / 16 Nissan 5769

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So says Newton's third law of motion, axiomatic to our understanding of the physical world.

Unfortunately, our understanding of the physical world and of reality doesn't always seem to accurately translate the perceptions and public statements of Israel's most implacable enemies and her harshest critics — fellow Jews often among them. Instead, the goings on in the arenas of left-wing activism and public relations all too often seem to bear no link at all to realities that most of us see plainly before our eyes.

With that in mind, these items are notable for their seeming fidelity to Newton's third law.

First, a boycott of Israeli wines staged in Vancouver, British Columbia by a group called Not In Our Name: Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism, didn't work out exactly as planned.

According to the Canadian Jewish News the idea was to stage a protest dubbed “Apartheid is Not Kosher,” at liquor stores offering Israeli wines, and “distribute information about the Palestinian cause and 'Israeli apartheid.' They asked that Jews buying kosher for Passover wine 'make [their] Passover apartheid-free' by boycotting Israeli wine brands.”

They must have not known that many Israeli wines are really good. And they must have not known that many, if not most, Jews are well aware that comparisons between Israel and the South African apartheid state of the 80's are specious and nonsensical.

Hundreds of counter-protesters showed up and, guess what? They cleaned out the supply of Israeli vintages in several shops targeted by protesters, purchasing several thousand bottles.

L'Chaim!

The second example of Newton's third law concerns fallout from a very public temper tantrum by Turkey's prime minister back in February. Tayyip Erdogan stormed off a stage he was sharing with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Davos World Economic Conference after arguing with Peres about Israel's operation in Gaza. At one point he yelled, "You are killing people."

As prime minister he might not have known the specifics of Turkey's tourist trade with Israel. We do, however. Last year it amounted to $300 million — 13 percent of all departures by Israeli tourists were to Turkey, making it Israel's second most popular tourist destination.

Turkish tour operators are going to be way off their numbers this year, according to Ha'aretz. That's the opposite of increasing tourism from Israel by 25 percent in 2009 as they had hoped.

Tour operators report massive cancellations of vacations planned for spring and summer — one company reports sales down by half. Many Israelis are going to Greece and Cyprus instead.

It would be nice to see this last and even translate to a drop in travel to other countries that aren’t evenhanded with Israel, but that's probably not too likely.

The head of Israel's Tourist and Travel Agents Association, Yossi Fattal, told Ha'aretz he doesn't think the boycott will prove to be such a big deal in the end: "The Israeli memory isn't very long,” he said. “Half a year is like an ice age and the memory will fade."

Still, doing something is almost always better than doing nothing at all.