The Absurdity of the BDS Movement

Although it does not appear to receive the same media attention as it used to, the Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement is still very active in its opposition to Israel.  Although the BDS Movement espouses principles of freedom, justice and equality, it demonstrates via its actions that they believe those principles should only apply to the Palestinian people and not to Israel. 

The Movement itself has been very careful in trying to position itself as a human rights group whose existence is supposedly about promoting the self-determination of the Palestinian people.  However, its thinly veiled antisemitism has not fooled Israel’s supporters.  In 2019, the German government stated that calls for the boycott of Israeli goods was compared with the Nazis’ call for the boycott of Jewish goods.  In fact, for those who may legitimately become confused as to what constitutes antisemitism rather than criticism, Natan Sharansky suggests his unique “3-D test”.  Under this test, criticism crosses over into antisemitism when Israel is demonised, delegitimised or held to a double-standard.

There are many people throughout the world who, through their rabid antisemitism, claim that the world would be better off without the Jews.  Some extremists may even go so far as to avoid anything in their life which has a Jewish connection.  To give you an idea of the absurdity of this worldview, let me outline some of the everyday items which antisemites would have to do without if they were to erase Jewish invention from their lives.

Writing

People would have to give up writing with a ballpoint pen.  Fountain pens used to be the predominant method of writing, but many writers struggled with fountain pens because they often leaked and smudged. 

A Jewish journalist named Laszlo Biro sought to change that experience.  He developed the original ballpoint pen, allowing the ink to flow smoothly without the mess. 

Word Processing

Antisemites might be happy to throw away their pens and turn to a computer to continue their activism.  Not so fast.  Evelyn Berezin, born to Belarusian Jewish immigrants, designed the first word-processing computer.  Forget about flying to and from activist rallies also.  Evelyn developed the first automated airline reservation system. 

Stainless Steel

Because of its resistance to rust and corrosion, stainless steel has been crucial in modern construction, medicine and transportation.  Most people would have stainless steel somewhere in their homes.  This innovation is credited to Hans Goldschmidt, a German chemist of Jewish descent.  Looks like antisemites will have to do some remodeling to remove all of the stainless steel from their kitchens.   

Teddy Bears

Things are looking bleak for antisemites already.  Without being able to write, type, fly or cook, perhaps they would like to seek solace in cuddling their teddy bears.  Hold that thought.  When Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt went on a hunting trip in 1902, he failed to locate a single bear.  His hunting party reportedly cornered and tied a black bear to a tree for Roosevelt to shoot.  However, Roosevelt refused to kill the bear because it would be unsportsmanlike.  Ever the opportunist, a political cartoonist turned to satire, lightheartedly poking fund at the President’s refusal to shoot the bear. 

When Jewish immigrants from Russia, Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose, saw the cartoon, they decided to make a new toy and call it “Teddy’s Bear”.  Looks like antisemites will have to pry teddy bears away from their children. 

Video Games

This must all be getting too much for antisemites.  Perhaps they might like to escape into the fantasy world of video games.  Well, I have news for them.  Ralph Baer, whose family fled Germany just before World War II helped pave the way for the game systems we know today. The Jewish engineer began to investigate how to play games on a television in 1966, leading to the first video game console, affectionately known as the “Brown Box”.  They better not turn on the television with a remote control either.  Robert Adler, a Viennese Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, is considered “father of the clicker” which led to the development of the modern-day remote control.

Shopping Cart

The antisemite must be getting really frustrated by now.  Every time they turn around, there is something of the Jewish mind in their home!  Perhaps they should go and do the grocery shopping.  Surely, they will escape anything Jewish there.  Well, if they are prepared to carry all of their groceries, that might be fine. 

Sylvan Nathan Goldman ran a grocery store.  After watching his female customers juggling wire baskets and their children in his store, he thought that there must be an easier way to shop. So, along with his brother Alfred, he invented the shopping cart.  He got the idea from a wooden folding chair in his office. While studying the chair one day, Sylvan thought: Why not place a basket on the seat and wheels on the legs?

Surprisingly, Goldman’s customers didn’t immediately appreciate the new invention. The men objected to wheeling a shopping cart because they found it effeminate while women resisted using it because it resembled pushing a baby’s stroller too much!  However, as we all know, the idea caught on and almost every grocery store throughout the world has shopping carts.

Cardiac Care

Well, we might imagine that the stress of avoiding anything connected with a Jew would bring so much strain upon a person that they might have a heart attack.  I hope for their sake this doesn’t happen!  Dr Paul Zoll, a Jewish surgeon during World War II, revolutionised cardiac care.  His research led to the development of external defibrillators and pacemakers. 

In Conclusion

The inventions I have listed in this article are but a fraction of the wonderful, everyday items we use which were invented or inspired by Jews.  Imagine how much more the world would have been blessed had the Jews been allowed to create in peace, rather than being harassed, persecuted, tortured and murdered.   

Although the sequence of events I have laid out might cause us to chuckle in disbelief, it reveals a startling issue in the world today – people are all too happy to be the recipient of Jewish invention, but they reject the Jews.  The same goes for life itself.  They are happy to be alive and to have breath in their lungs, all the while rejecting their Creator. 

Oh, and by the way, did I mention that Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah?