Religion & Beliefs
A Sweatshop-Free, Jewish-Owned Clothing Company Is Creating Jobs in Palestine
By Null / March 24, 2008
You may have heard about No Sweat: A little apparel company aiming to make a big difference in the Middle East. Run by CEO Adam Neiman, No Sweat is more than just 100% union made apparel. In addition to creating sweatshop-free, organic and vegan products, Neiman is dedicated to creating jobs in Palestine. Unlike a lot of clothing manufacturers, No Sweat is upfront about their sources and production sites, such as the Arja Textiles factory in Bethlehem, Palestine. So, why did a Jewish guy from Boston want to source from a textile factory in Palestine? I'll let him tell you in his own words:
"While economic development is no substitute for a diplomatic settlement, no settlement can survive without a sustainable Palestinian economy. So while waiting for a diplomatic resolution, we have created a mechanism for ordinary citizens of good faith to build goodwill on the ground, and support the peace to come. The concept is simple. When faced with an apparently irresolvable conflict, if there is any one thing all parties agree on, do that one thing and see what happens."
Neiman's optimistic ideals and goals for No Sweat have garnered a lot of positive press over the past couple of years—they've even been the subject of an Al Jazeera profile. That said, No Sweat still needs major funding to pull off this experiment in entrepreneurial diplomacy properly. As Neiman put it, "Hamas has chosen guns. Abbas has bet on butter. If we don't provide Palestinians on the West Bank with butter—good private sector jobs NOW—Hamas and guns will certainly prevail."
You can help No Sweat by voting for them in this month's Ideablob contest, where they're finalists competing for $10,000. You've got until March 31 to vote.
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I want to buy a beautifully embroidered suicide belt that I can display on my lacquered Hezbollah supplied coffins, that I use as a coffeetable. Can you point me to a website
Ancient Israel was re-named Palestine by the Romans. It has no Arab connection whatsoever. There has never been a Palestinian country, people, language, or culture. These Fakestinians are Arabs who are native to Arabia. Jews were in fact the first to be called "Palestinians" because they have always lived in Israel.Â
The racist, sexist, anti-semitic Arab savages killers should go back to their homeland of Arabia and leave Israel to the indigenous Jews.Â
Hitler committed suicide and so should you "Thor."Â You're a worthless psychotic sub-human piece of trash that needs to jump off a tall building.
Dear ThorsÂ
Nothing changes the fact that a murderous genocidal group of racist Europeans stole the land that is now the USA from the native population.
When the USA repatriates the native population that was wrongfully deprived of its residence rights and returns all movable and immovable properties to their rightful owners and the entire USA population is forced to pay reparations to all native americans that have suffered then their might be some possibility that the foreign colonizer population could develop good relations with the native population.
Interlopers like Thor Provoni should go back to their native lands.
Thors, when will you be transfering your ownership in your company to the native americans?
Nothing changes the fact that a murderous genocidal group of racist Central and Eastern Europeans stole Palestine from the native population.
"No sweat" is essentially a pat on the head as compensation.
When the State of Israel repatriates the native Palestinian population that was wrongfully deprived of its residence rights and returns all movable and immovable properties to their rightful owners and the entire Zionist population is forced to pay reparations to all Palestinians and other ME populations that have suffered because of Zionism, then their might be some possibility that the foreign colonizer population could develop good relations with the native population.
Interlopers like Chascione should go back to their native lands.
Â
but I agree with Ismail in terms of this being a noble endeavor– but I'm also quite skeptical. I see nothing wrong with creating jobs for Palestinians and think that in of itself it is important work, but in terms of its relationship to eventual peace– I don't know. My guess is that most Palestinians can appreciate endeavors like this and even the Jews involved in creating them– and still harbor hatred for their neighbors. It works both ways– there are plenty of Jews and Palestinians that have embraced an individual or two that is a part of "the other", but at the end of the day, we're still at war and each of us still sees it that way.
Cori C
coriac@gmail.com
I just want to let you know you come off a bit like a self-righteous prick. Good luck though.
…because of our demand, that's a job well done. But I intend to stay there until peace breaks out and a while beyond, at the very least. even if we aren't needed anymore I like a good excuse to visit the Holy Land & it's always more fun & interesting to go for work than as a tourist, certainly at my age.Â
please Real, bear in mind, I'm a Yid. Money ain't the root of all evil in my book! to make money & do good? now that's a simcha worth a little extra risk.Â
G'night my hard bitten friend.Â
So when the chance came to produce organic cotton T-shirts at a
sweatshop-free Palestinian owned factory on Virgin Mary Street in
Bethlehem, hell, that was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Because its a great marketing angle. Without an actual investment in the economy of Bethlehem what will No Sweat do when wages for seamstresses increase to the point where it is no longer profitable to sell t-shirts at $18 a pop? Why they will move on and find another supplier with an appropriate sob story capable of being spun into a lovely politically correct marketing pitch.
Yes, I have a good idea how comments around here go. And so I know that we will bump into each other somewhere else, no shortages of opportunities there. If you absolutely have to respond to what I say, and I understand that feeling, then one line. Not all threads are the same–some require that we really stay on topic. You know how we can get.
Now, explain what you think JewcyCraig was talking about. And this will be, more than likely, the only time I will consider your opinion as having some connection to reality. (See? One line. Or, if you want to be literal–brevity.)Â
Sisters of the Sacred Heart? Dude, my condolences.
I was educated by Dominicans in my youth. These were as sadistic and joyless a coven of harpies as one could imagine, and what little pleasure they did allow themselves came from tormenting my prepubescent pudgy Arab self, as foreign to them as a Martian in the herd of O'Malleys and Lombardos upon whom they absolutely doted by comparison. Bad times. Â Â
But the road calls….Â
A garment guy who quotes from the Eighteenth Brumaire. What a marvelous world. (I had a job between between my sophomore and junior years in high school shlepping buttons and trims around NYC's garment district, which at the time was a relatively self-contained local economy, a shtetl of zippers and voile and constantly whirring machines. Seemed like every booming apoplectic owner was either an Arab or a Jew. My boss was an unaccountably placid (for the trade) Jewish guy named Lou, who would give all us runners lectures about capital and labor. I was an idiot at the time, but even I knew that he seemed to be speaking against interest and paid more attention than I otherwise would for that reason. So maybe this is more of a tradition than I know.) Â Â
Hello Adam. I appreciate your straightforwardness about the possibility of your efforts having an unanticipated consequence. As you say, we may know soon enough.
I don't want to adopt a doctrinaire negativity, but I do want to be able to think critically about your project, which I think we all should-about everything. I'll admit to being somewhat cynical, but every human disposition contains its opposite (so you don't like Marx-how do you feel about Freud?), so my skepticism cohabits with a bottomless desire for Hollywood endings.
I think you deserve a more detailed and thoughtful reply, and I'll try to get to writing one soon. Right now, I'm taking the day off, it's more or less springtime in Boston and my motorcycle's been in hibernation since November, so I'm outta here. Â
Â
Adam,
Apologies for saying fake Chucks, definitely did not mean it in a bad way at all. In fact, I happen to think that the sneakers are pretty badass. Best of luck with everything.
Ish, must be our shared CUNY/Jesuit educations…they do really hammer things home, don't they? Though my Jesuit indoctrination is only a recent phenomena (though, go figure, my undergrad institution was at one point affiliated with the sisters of the Sacred Heart.) Â
I am, of course, not saying tha a critical eye shouldn't be turned..to anything of course. But the attacks on Adam's venture just seem so reactionary, that any normal conversation about his intentions/successes become somewhat buried. Though he pulled my favorite Marx quote so…I'm thinking he must be on the right path.
Ismail & I'm feeling pretty peppy this AM. As we know the road to hell is paved w/ good intentions. fortunately, mine are hardly pure. I do need to make a living & fortune & fame would be AOK w/ me too.
I don't agree w/ Marx on religion or much else really except the notion that “all things occur as it were twice- the 1st time as tragedy the 2nd time as farce.” What was initially just "ephemeral comfort" for African slaves evolved into an irresistible (and peaceful) movement for civil rights under Martin Luther King. But I also have some concerns about just being window dressing on the occupation. We’ll find out soonish I suspect. If we’re just whitewashing the security fence we won’t have divine support & Lord knows we’ve got no serious financial backing!
And these aren’t fake chucks, Adam. in 2003 when Nike bought out Converse (which used to produce in union factories in the US) they gave my company an opening I could drive a tank thru. So I did. We put a spec sheet in the shoe box of our wages & benefits & challenged Nike to do the same. It was the old 90 lb weakling kicks sand in face of 800 lb gorilla routine.. The AP picked up the story & we were off to the races.
"And sheesh, I swear, I must becoming overwhelmed with school work to be agreeing (in principle) with Ismail half the time. I can only wonder what will happen when I fully get into the throws of dissertation research (on the bright side, Ish, you can make fun of my topic and we can be back on par)"
Jeepers, Adam, am I really so toxic that you have to appeal to fatigue or disorientation to explain your agreeing with me?
And I'm actually quite curious about your research interest, and not at all with an eye to making fun of it.
I don't agree, though, with your notion that No Sweat's Adam deserves a pass just for good intentions. If his efforts can be shown to be merely palliative and if they have the effect of siphoning off energy from more robust and structural solutions-and I'm not saying this is so-one may usefully and legitimately challenge him.
Think of Marx's problem with religion-by providing an ephemeral comfort and a legitimation of an unfair social order, it may forestall the achievement of genuine social justice.
Just because someone is a nice guy with good intentions doesn't mean you shouldn't interrogate his actions.
Seriously…have we become so cynical that we can't just say "good luck and congratulations" to someone doing something positive? Sheesh people. If it works, even a little bit, it has added some light to the world. If it doesn't, well at least Adam tried.
More people in fake Chucks can only be a good thing anyway.
And sheesh, I swear, I must becoming overwhelmed with school work to be agreeing (in principle) with Ismail half the time. I can only wonder what will happen when I fully get into the throws of dissertation research (on the bright side, Ish, you can make fun of my topic and we can be back on par).Â
Nice try, but you're perfectly aware that comments on this site often reply to other comments, even if the former are not immediately apposite to the original post. Two speakers, three opinions-this is a Jewish site, right?
The role of prissy traffic cop doesn't suit you, and Craig's doing a mostly fine job of moderating anyway. Very nice that you admire Adam's work, but don't hide behind his union-made, politically optimistic skirts to quiet me.Â
I'll have more to say about Adam and his detractors, but when a screamingly inaccurate and politically harmful comment comes my way, I won't be silent. I would hope you'd feel the same.Â
This thread is about Adam. He's doing something not many, well, maybe even no one is doing. He needs good wishes, he needs to be cautioned, he needs blessings. So have a little seichel. We can fight so many different places, just not at this time. You want to wish Adam good luck? Go ahead. You want to wish him bad luck, do that if that's how you feel.Â
I promise you, we will have this discussion–but what the heck was JewcyCraig talking about? Maybe we're not allowed anymore.Â
"Could we not do this here? There will be other moments. Not this thread. Let's meet at 3pm, after school, at the flagpole. Unless you're chicken."
Oh, please. Reply responsively, or don't reply at all.Â
Â
Naftali, probability favors unhappy endings- life sucks and then you die. Most people make that into a self-fulfilling prophesy by preparing for that very likelihood. Happy endings, as every fan of screwball comedy knows, are incredibly improbable. Do the most probable thing & you are likely to get the most probable outcome. Do the more improbable thing and improbable outcomes become much more probable. So when the chance came to produce organic cotton T-shirts at a sweatshop-free Palestinian owned factory on Virgin Mary Street in Bethlehem, hell, that was an offer I couldn’t refuse. As Moses said before we entered the promised land – choose life or death, blessing or curse, tragedy or divine comedy. In Mel I trust!Â
This thread is fascinating  and reminds me of 2 things. One is a story that George Mitchell likes to tell from the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland when some guy stood up and actually said “To hell with the future, let’s get on with the past!” 2nd, it makes me so glad to be a businessman and more certain than ever that this is the way forward. As a great sportswriter so famously said, “when they say it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.” Speaking of N.Ireland, few folks know what finally created the coalition government of Protestants and Catholics in 2006. The Brits doubled the utility rates. War is a young man’s passion & pursuit. Putting food on the table for your children- well, that’s what grown-ups are for.Â
As an editor I know you don't have to tell us anything. But, yes, this thread has nothing to do with McCarthy or Joan Peters…but what do you mean that you don't know what would happen? What could happen?
I don't know which fraud you're referring to. You make a number of pretty good points here that are .. whaddayacallit .. entirely irrelevant. I wanna modify the comments policy so that it says, "If your post proves that Palestine/Israel is not real, please do not post it."
Actually, I'm thinking about deleting that post. The ramifications of this are just too great. If it got out that Palestine is a myth on Jewcy.. Well.. I don't know what would happened.
Where do you start with such an ignorant fool? Mccarthy is a fraud and the book is a joke. It's only the truth on Al-Queda websites. Joan Peters book is based on FACTS!  She worked in the State Department and was pro-Arab and anti-Israel until she discovered the truth about the history of Israel.Â
Mark Twain actually visited Israel/Palestine and witnessed first hand the conditions and the people who lived there. That's much more reliable than "demographers" employed by Saudi Arabia.
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A PALESTINIAN COUNTRY, PEOPLE, LANGUAGE, OR SOCIETY. Even the co-founder of the Plo admitted that the "Palestinian" people were "created" to destroy Israel. In fact Jews were called Palestinians because Palestine was just another name for Israel.
 According to the The Arabs, the phony Palestinians who immigrated from the Arabia pennisula to Israel, they are "indigenious" to Israel and have lived there for thousands of years. What they have done is stolen the history of the Jewish people and their homeland.  Anyone who believes this fraud is psychotic!
There will be other moments. Not this thread. Let's meet at 3pm, after school, at the flagpole. Unless you're chicken.Â
Poor Naftali, you just can't help yourself, can you?
Very unseemly, to be trafficking in ludicrous canards that have been rightly consigned to the dustbin of history….no, to the basement beneath the floor upon which rests that overstuffed dustbin…for some time now.
"Before the Jews began migrating in large numbers to Palestine in the early 20th century, by buying land from the Arabs (and mind you, countries such as Jordan and Syria and Iraq didn't exist), the land was pretty close to void–what Mark Twain described in Innocence Abroad."
Very nice to cite that fine American novelist, but I prefer the findings of actual demographers. McCarthy's "The Population of Palestine" sets the mid-19th century population at 500,000, among whom were 20,000 Jews. This inconvenient fact pretty much fucks your wildly idiosyncratic notion of "pretty close to void" in the ass, does it not?
As for accounting for the presence of Palestinians in what is now Israel with reference to the allure of Jewish industry, well, I'd stop cribbing from that old fraud Joan Peters if I were you. This comforting Zionist myth has been decisively interred for decades now, along with similar Protocols of the Elders of Islam fantasies like the infamous broadcasts urging all Palestinians to decamp from their homes.
If you insist upon making a contorted and abused Gimp of the truth, you should at least update your lies to their more current versions. Â
On the one hand, there is the dialogue about whether Adam should open his business–and I think everyone has no problem with that, according to how I read this thread.
Another conversation is whether his business will have any effect in alleviating the tensions in Israel. Some say it will or could, others say it won't. But everyone is in agreement that there is no harm in allowing the data to come in. In other words, Adam, Mazel Tov, hope it turns out differently than just about every venture before yours.
Which leads to the third conversation, and this is a bit more problematic. Before the Jews began migrating in large numbers to Palestine in the early 20th century, by buying land from the Arabs (and mind you, countries such as Jordan and Syria and Iraq didn't exist), the land was pretty close to void–what Mark Twain described in Innocence Abroad. The Jews began to build an economy, and more and more Arabs moved to Palestine for jobs. Fast forward past the creation of the modern Middle East, past the Intifadas, to Gaza pre-pullout. There was indeed some kind of economy there, the Jews had businesses and employed Gazans, and as many Gazans expressed, they were apprehensive about the pullout, knowing their jobs would be lost. And we know how this turned out.
The real problem, Adam, is that terrorism is the largest corporation in these areas, receiving billions in foreign aid and the possibilities of making money in this business are far greater than in your business. This isn't a prediction of failure, but it's an obstacle that you'll have to overcome. But Jews are notorious (I could end this sentence right there) for beating the odds, much to the dismay of those creating the odds.
So all I'll add is that I hope you are religious, because, brother, you're going to need it.
Elvis, I don't think the problem is ALL economics, merely that it is the one component of the solution that ALL agree on right now and the one thing we can all act on immediately. I see the larger problem as one of good faith (on BOTH sides) and demonization (by SOME parties) on both sides. Small, practical & concrete steps that demonstrate good faith, build good will and break down stereotypes on both sides will certainly help. I've spent a bit of time w/ the Palestinians now, not as a member of a solidarity group but as a businessman & I assure you these are humans and Semites, just like us. That's both good news and bad news. Like us they are stubborn, passionate, opinionated, loud & outspoken with a deep sense of historic grievance tinged by paranoia, not to mention shrewd & capable businessmen who drive a very hard bargain. The trouble isn't that we're so different. It's that we're so similar!
Like all humans most respond better to carrots than sticks. If we wish to encourage the most reasonable elements in Palestinian society we need to show them all the benefits of reasonableness. Hamas & Gaza have chosen the stick. If the West Bank doesn't get carrots very soon, Hamas will certainly prevail.
But I would never build a factory in Bethlehem to compete with a local Palestinian owned factory, as you suggested, even if I could afford to. what I'm doing now is a calculated risk. that would be suicide. And the point of the enterprise is to build up Palestinian workers & businesses.
be well, Elvis & look me up next time you're in Boston. Till then, shalom.
Dear Adam
I would love to have coffee with you as well, but I dont get to Boston often and you probably dont get to Safford, AZ much either. I wish you well in your enterprise, but I dont think it will work out well. While you have good intentions, I dont think you have read the situation correctly. If this was a conflict over land and economics, you are certainly doing the right thing. However, if this was the case, the Palestinians would have already declared independence, which would have immediately been recognized by most of the countries in the world (including Israel and the US). They would have issued coins and currency, possibly even before international recognition (even Kurdistan has done this). The fact that they havent is because they require all of Palestine (from the river to the sea) to become a nation. I have a counterproposal. Build a large factory in the middle of Sderot. Employ Arabs. Perhaps Hamas will think twice about indiscriminate rocketing
Why knock someone that is willing to stick their neck out to do SOMETHING. It is easy to sit back and criticize. The world would definitely be a better place if more people were willing to take a risk to live their values. Everything worth while starts with a small step.
Is Adam Neiman a business man trying to make a buck?
Of course he is!Â
But if you think his decision to supply work for Palestinians in Bet Lehem is meaningless and strictly business oriented, then you do not comprehend the extent of unemployment and poverty in the occupied territories, and the effect it has on people's psyche and the choices they make.
I appreciate the fact that Neiman's business, as any other business, is profit oriented and aims for cheap suppliers. But I also appreciate the fact that a privately owned business can in fact make conscientious choices and be used as a tool for more than money making.
Adam, nice bridge you're maintaining – keep it strong.
I agree with you choice of action, and with a lot of what you say. Especially – recognising that Palestinians, like all people, don't like handouts, but they do like being treated as humans. So true, and therein lies the hope for all mankind.
Love thy neighbour as thyself.
I wouldn't get so stressed about comments from people who actually think someone can be classified as a savage just because he's from this or that place. They're just scared and allow their fears to govern their actions and thoughts.
Keep up the good work, and good luck to you!
Now we can perhaps move beyond paranoid delusions of right-wing cabals out to get Adam Neiman and discuss this post and comments. No Sweat has the right to use whatever suppliers they see fit. While it has been correctly noted that so far there is no correlation between short term economic advances in the West Bank and Gaza and stability and peace, I think a more robust economy will in the long run contribute to greater stability in the region. The creation of $1 an hour jobs (and 21 days of paid vacation days a year!) does not, I believe, contribute to the creation of a robust economy. No Sweat is simply a business like most others. What will No Sweat do when the cost of labor hypothetically doubles or triples in Bethlehem? Increase the price of their $18 "feel good" teeshirts and see sales inevitably fall? No. No Sweat will do what any other company would do and find another cheap-o supplier in some other city with desperate people willing to work for peanuts.
What would make a difference? An actual investment. Invest in an actual operation in the West Bank. Buy a factory. Build infrastructure. Show a vested interest in the economy and the people you are otherwise exploiting.
Business is business. No laws are being broken here, no one's engaging in immoral behavior. The regular conduct of business, regardless of the marketing spin that seeks to make it look noble and selfless, does not merit special praise.
I checked, and all the users commenting under separate names have been unique.
But I do agree with Adam Neiman. And even if "the Arabs" will be unilaterally ungrateful for a Jewish-owned business that benefits them, tough freaking rocks. It's his money. Eventually something's gotta give, and I'd rather have more people out there just putting in and putting in than, well, taking out all the time. Someday we'll all be able to get over ourselves and just deal with our pride issues.
My friend, the only person here you are fooling is yourself. You aren’t serving the Jewish people, the state of Israel or even your own best interests. Quite the contrary. All these harsh and hateful voices are just facets of one lonely misanthrope cutting himself off from humanity and all the love to be found in the world. You have been bullied, I can tell. So you feel compelled to bully. Far from healing your wound you are merely picking at the scab.
The only frenzied attacker out there is you, Elvis. Come on out of your cave. It’s Spring again. Where do you live? Perhaps we could have coffee and a meeting of hearts and minds next time I’m in your town.
With love, albeit tough…
Adam
Dear Adam
Im thrilled and gratified that you can google. In my years in the Middle East, I found one simple rule that stood me in good stead with the Palestinians. Assume that whatever you do, you will be faced by a lack of gratitude. Build a company for them, you will be accused of exploitation. Dont build a company for them, you will be accused of racism, discrimination, and boycott. Since it is easier not to build for them, that is what I choose to do. While it is true that most people, Palestinians included, like to make a buck, that buck will be tainted if seen as coming from a Jew. Second, not all people act in a way that enhances their immediate financial benefit. For example, a plastic surgeon can choose to stay in an academic center and make a third of what he would make in private practice, but pursues other ideals that immediate financial gratification. Similarly, it is financially not productive for Palestinians to engage in war, but they are pursuing what they consider a higher ideal. To think that you will buy them with shiny toilets and flat screen TVs are ludicrous. if their ideals didnt involve killing Jews, I would admire them
Do all the other people on this blog, representing the complete range of ideological perspectives, have to reveal themselves in order for their ideas to be taken seriously? Anonymity is permitted here at Jewcy and I have my reasons for maintaining that. Being critical of the perceived "gold standard" in the anti-sweatshop movement leaves one open to all sorts of frenzied attacks, which I prefer to be restricted to this forum.
I trust the editors and sysadmins at Jewcy respect their readers' privacy as well. The only private information I am willing to divulge is the confirmation that my IP address is not the same as any of your other critics. The only history I have with the labor movement is that my Father was a shop steward. I don't need your apologies.
I've looked at the information on your site regarding the Palestinian employees in the factory in Bethlehem. I've been to Bethlehem and the West Bank many times. I am not impressed with the wages and benefits earned in the factory you use given the cost of living there. Your baseless and false insinuations do not address the issues at hand.
thx for identifying yourself. a quick google shows your record & affiliations. you are right about one thing- Palestinians don't want more handouts from anyone, especially Jews. That's just more humiliation. but they do love business and being treated as equals, like any other human beings. & that is precisely what my company does by sourcing from a sweatshop free Palestinian owned factory.Â
Dear Adam
Stop accusing people of trying to dominate the conversation. It is your money and you can decide what to do with it. You can invest it in the Palestinian terrortories, Syria, N Korea, or Iran. In the end, despite your good intentions, you will not purchase Palestinian identity for 1$/hr or $1000/hr. I am not accusing them of being savages either, but they dont like presents from Jews. Look what they did with the greenhouses from Gaza when James Wolfensohn purchased them and gave them to the Gazan Arabs. In the end, the same will happen to your company. Best of luck, but I think Bear Stearns, Delta, or Enron are a better investment. Who knows, you could even build a factory in Sderot?
If you are sincere, please share your identity and your own blogs so we can see whether you in fact have any historic interest in labor issues or not. If you can demonstrate that I'll be happy to apologize & publicly.Â
my site is very clear about how the wages paid place our Palestinian workers on the economic plane on the West Bank. They start at the lower middle and rise to the middle/middle or upper middle.
http://www.nosweatapparel.com/sources/arja-textiles.htmlÂ
Absolute statements about wages without comparison to local  cost of living are bullshit & you know it. Neglecting to include benefits and holidays are more half truths and you know it. Please don't insult our intelligence. No one is deceived by your transparent tactics.Â
If you have anything else to say, please have the courage to identify yourself & prove your long time interest in labor rights, as I have done. If not, well, you shout by your silence. Â
Good luck with your venture. I applaud any action that can make lives better through jobs and companies. Too many times the government tries to use handouts and grants, but actual employment is what builds communities and in the end produces stability. People with jobs do not have time for protests and terror. It is at least worth a try. Far too many throw bricks without trying to help or see what the others are doing. I hope you have the greatest success and that it leads to less hatred.
Good for you Mr. Neiman. I hope your idea wins and I wish you all the mazel in the world for your project.
b'shalom
AdamNeiman: I'm no sniper. I'm certainly not an extreme right winger. My critiques aren't the result of some conspiracy against you, your company or the concept of expanded economic opportunity in the West Bank. You are both presumptuous and insulting, but I guess that suits your purposes. You want to come off looking like a humanitarian and not simply as a shrewd businessman exploiting cheap labor.
For the third time – I wholeheartedly agree with Israel's policy of supporting economic development in the West Bank. I believe it is one of the most powerful, long term methods we have of building peace, stability and prosperity for the region. Can I possibly be any more unequivocal?
But pardon me if I refuse to accept the idea that the creation of $1 an hour jobs is going to create lasting peace or any kind of real economic development. I will not be able to wear your company's t-shirts knowing that the woman that made them was being paid less than 5 shekels an hour. Others are free to throw laurels your way, don't expect any from me or anyone else who can think critically, regardless of their political orientation.Â
This is the extreme right play book- dominate the discussion, intimidate publishers and drown out all voices of moderation and hope. take potshots from the left with half truths and whole lies about my company's labor standards (widely recognized by the anti-sweatshop movement as the gold standard in the industry) then from the right make anti-Semitic innuendo about Arabs being savages. I suspect there is one maybe 2 snipers in this discussion, using the anonymity of the internet to mask the fact that they are a tiny number of extremists determined to dominate the debate. Not this time. I have no more respect for anti-Semitic Jews than for anti-Semitic Arabs. Both refuse to recognize the common humanity that makes peace possible so as to perpetuate a conflict that lends drama & meaning to their lives.
It is now official Israeli foreign policy to encourage economic development on the West Bank. Any Jew who is loyal to the state of Israel is obligated to give that policy a chance to succeed. If they can’t bring themselves to support it, they should at least be silent, give that policy a chance and not always insist on getting the last word in & thus drive out all other voices. Perhaps you are right & this policy of carrots will fail & only the stick will prevail. Nothing is ordained, everything is contingent, especially in the Holy Land. If you are so certain, then step back and let history prove you right. Whatever the outcome, it is very important that we, as Jews, be seen by the world, by ourselves and by our children, as having tried everything within reason to live in peace with our neighbors, the Palestinians.
Most Semites, Jews and Arabs, aren’t haters. But as Jews we have a particular obligation to love our neighbors as ourselves. The same Torah that declares the land of Israel to be our birthright makes that claim contingent on observing the Law. And loving our neighbors as ourselves is the cornerstone and essence of the Law. If we do not observe at least the spirit of the Law, we forfeit any just claim to the land.
I dont plan to purchase any of the goods. I dont want my money funding the families of suicide bombers or purchase of explosives. Palestinian identity is based upon conflict with Israel. Asking Palestinians to make peace with Israel is asking them to give up their identity. I dont expect them to make that sacrifice. Palestinians had good economic conditions in the 1990s, but that didnt prevent them from launching the second intifadah. 84% of Palestinians approved the Mercaz Harav murders, including those from the more well off West Bank. If economics were responsible for terrorism, then we should have a lot of terrorists from Haiti, which is much poorer that the Palestinian territories. I would favor building factories in Rwanda or Haiti rather than the PA terrortories
seriously a writer who uses "Palestine" to denote a nonexistent state? Not to be too pedantic, but you should prob think a little more about what you mean when you say "Palestine."
Another misguided fool who thinks the Arabs behave like savages because they are poor. He has it backwords. They are poor because they behave like savages.
Anonymous 1: When did I say that the company pretended to create world peace? The company is called No Sweat, implying that they do not use Sweat Shop labor. The per capita income of Indonesia in 2007 was estimated to be $3,400. At $140 a month the average employee at the BATA shoe factory that makes those gnarly Converse inspired shoes in Indonesia makes $1680 a year. Low paying work is, for me at least, one of the indicators of an unpleasant work environment. You wanna support that? Go ahead. I won't. I also clearly stated that No Sweat's shoes were produced in Indonesia, not the West Bank. I think you need to read things more carefully. As for the Bethlehem operation? Seamstresses get paid the equivalent of $1 an hour to make fair trade and organic clothing. Nice. Notice I am not yelling. I got all this info from their Web site.
Anonymous #2: For starters, I had nothing to do with the Glick article you mentioned. I never questioned the fact that No Sweat is very forthcoming about their operation. Like I said, I got all my info from their website. Please show me where it is bogus. Please also show me how my discomfort with this company makes me an extremist, right-wing or otherwise. You're a little bit presumptuous I think. You're the only one making attacks.
I think creating economic opportunities in the West Bank is a great idea! Why does that sound like a lie? Economic expansion can help to foster stability and peace. That's a great idea!
Should someone who creates $1 an hour jobs be lauded? Well… it's not great, maybe it's a good start, but even in the West Bank, $1 an hour is not a lot and when I see these celebratory articles and their breathless titles, it kind of makes me queasy. Sorry if I don't join you in your love fest!
OMG! A Jew does something brave and sensible to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians! something that has the support of BOTH the Israeli & the Palestinian foreign ministries! How to attack it and still maintain the pretense that you "support Israel in her quest for peace"?Â
1st, quick throw up a smoke screen- an incredibly long & irrelevant article by well known David Project speaker Caroline Glick about Thieving Arabs in the Galilee & the PC cowards that won't bust them.Â
then rush over to the No Sweat site for some superficial (and bogus)attack research. No Sweat makes it transparently clear that starting salaries only take their workers out of poverty into the lower middle class. They are very honest about the fact that the factories they source from aren't socialist worker's paradise- just decent workplaces providing an honest living. more honest than attack blogger, who, after sliming the company about everything else, pretends to approve of creating jobs for Palestinians in Bethlehem.
when will the extremists on both sides get a life & stop taking ours! Â
your post is so hot headed.
slow down and find out what you are talking about.
the company doesnt pretend to create world peace.
but creating good jobs in safe work environments where workers are organized is a good thing, and a very Jewish thing. And the project they are doing in the West Bank has nothing to do with their sneakers so read the stuff before you pop off. honestly. we have enough yelling about nonsense in our community and our world. take a breath.
Bethlehem, Palestine? Did I miss the news? When was independence declared? It's still the Palestine Authority last time I checked.
For those of you lusting after those Converse knock offs, you should know they're made in a factory in Indonesia where the average wage is under $140 a month. In their suppliers' unionized shops in the US workers are paid an average salary 40% lower than what is paid at a similar, well known non-unionized apparel manufacturer in the US.
Check it out yourself, it's all on their website. Lots of people claim to be "No Sweat" – such claims always merit closer inspection and they mostly do not pan out. I'm glad Neiman is providing some employment to the people of Bethlehem though.
article here
no sweat is the real deal—you have to see the stuff with "made in Bethlehem" on the tag to believe it. This is very cool. Great article.
I want a pair of those shoes NOW. They'll restock, I'll bet–and apparently there are retailers all over the US. I'm about to do some serious shopping.Â
…and they're sold out of the Chuck Taylor knockoff/homage
in sz 10. Guess I'll keep my $42 (!).Â
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