Israelis Provide the Palestinians With Something the Anti-Israel Boycotts Will Not
The Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics stands out among Palestinian institutions in that for the most part it dispenses with the reflexive habit of blaming everything on Israel and simply serves as a professional purveyor of statistical information on the West Bank and Gaza. It recently released figures on the Palestinian Balance of Payments for 2008. Among the interesting data points was the following:
The surplus in Income Balance (compensations of employees and investments income) increased by 22.1% compared with the year 2007. This surplus amounted to US$ 913.2 million. This surplus was caused mainly by the surplus in Compensations of Employees working in Israel which was announced as US$ 649.1 million, an increase [sp] of 31.7% in year 2008 when compared with the year 2007, inspite of the decrease in the compensations of Gaza Strip employees, meanwhile investments income was amounted to US$ 174.1 million. an increase [sp] of 3.6% in year 2008 when compared with the year 2007.
Despite the endless words of support for the Palestinians emanating out of all corners of the Arab world and from “progressive” elements of the West, empty gestures of sympathy don’t feed a family or provide an opportunity for dignified work. Tangible benefits result from mutually beneficial work opportunities afforded by their closest neighbor, Israel. It is a lesson that unfortunately is likely to be missed as British and Canadian trade unions, European academic unions and various professional groups continue to advocate boycotts of those same Israelis who unlike the boycotters actually provide a dignified wage to Palestinian men.
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