Spanish gov't sponsors Israeli boycott ad on PA TV

TV ad shows boy rejecting Israeli potato chips, buys Palestinian product instead; ad says "don't prolong the occupation's life upon our land."

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
pmw video_311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
pmw video_311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Spanish government has sponsored an ad on Palestinian television supporting the boycott of Israeli goods, according to Palestinian Media Watch.
Channel 2 on Tuesday night said that the Spanish government was investigating the matter.
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PMW posted the video on YouTube Tuesday. The commercial has been running since last week on Palestinian Authority television, the group said in a statement.
According to PMW, logos appear at the end of the ad, which state that it was sponsored by: The Spanish government, The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AECID (Spanish governmental humanitarian aid development), ACSIR (a Spanish non-profit organization) and the Canaan Joint Development Project for Jerusalem (Palestine).
In the ad, a small boy enters a store and overhears a conversation in which a customer says to the shopkeeper. “Do you see them? They’re plastering the city with advertisements about boycotting Israeli goods.”
The shopkeeper explains that he continues to supply Israeli products because people ask for them.
The customer agrees: “Israeli products are better than the local products.”
Then the shopkeepers turns to the boy and asks: “What do you want?” The boy, glances at shelves, particularly at bags of potato chips stacked near an Osem placard.
He turns back to the shopkeeper and answers: “I want Israeli chips.”
He then takes the chips and walks to the door. He stops when he hears gunfire.
He looks around, drops the chips on the floor, returns to the shopkeeper and says: “I don’t want the Israeli product, I want the Palestinian product.”
The advertisement ends by displaying the text: “Don’t prolong the occupation’s life upon our land.”
An Israeli official said in response, “Instead of talking peace, it appears the PA is talking about boycotts..
Not only have they been boycotting the Israeli government and refusing to negotiate, it appears that they are now supporting an economic boycott of Israeli products.”
“These policies would appear antithetical to the pursuit of peace,” the official said.
“If indeed foreign governments are supporting such a policy, that would be a matter of concern, especially governments who claim to support peace and reconciliation,” the official added.