“The Jews of Eretz Israel Boycotted Barbarian Goods” – Early publication against the purchase of German products ...

“The Jews of Eretz Israel Boycotted Barbarian Goods” – Early publication against the purchase of German products “under the Hitler–Goebbels regime.”

"The Jews of Eretz Israel Boycotted Barbarian Goods" – An early pamphlet with the participation of Zionist associations in Eretz Israel, calling to boycott products made in Germany "under the Hitler–Goebbels regime." "Boycott German Goods." Tel Aviv, Sivan 5694, May–June 1934 (just one year after Hitler’s rise to power). Responsible editors: Y. Koland and Sh. Friedman. Rare.

An urgent appeal appears in the pamphlet "To the Hebrew public in Eretz Israel", calling on the Jewish public not to purchase German-made goods while the Nazis incite and act against the Jews in Germany: "More than a year has already passed in Germany under the Hitler–Goebbels regime… the Hitlerite insolence is growing… the venomous propaganda and wild incitement to pogroms are spreading...". The pamphlet also includes quotes from Ze’ev Jabotinsky at the Zionist Congress in Prague, in which he called for total non-cooperation with the "Third Reich government." 

The pamphlet is filled with direct appeals to the Jewish public around the world, urging them not to buy any German-made products: "Jews! In the eyes of the Nazis, you are the scum of human society, and yet you are helping them strengthen their economic foundations by buying their products", or: "Upon those who break the boycott shall fall the curse of the nation", and: "Merchant! Will you really sell German goods for the sake of a few coins? What matters more – your honor and the honor of your people, or a few pounds in your annual balance?" 

The pamphlet also includes large caricatures and antisemitic news clippings from the German press, meant to bring to the attention of the Jewish public in Eretz Israel the monstrous scale of antisemitism in Hitler's Germany. At the end of the pamphlet appears a long list of merchants who signed declarations to boycott German goods. Cover design: A muscular Jew smashing the Nazi swastika with his sword, against the backdrop of a Jewish settlement.

Following Hitler's rise to power and the intensification of antisemitism in Germany, public institutions, political parties, and Zionist youth movements called to avoid purchasing goods originating from Germany. The boycott was accompanied by demonstrations, calls in the press, and at times by acts of civilian enforcement. However, the boycott also sparked internal controversy within the Yishuv, particularly in light of the Haavara Agreement signed between the Jewish Agency and the Nazi regime, which allowed for the transfer of property belonging to German Jewish immigrants to Eretz Israel via the import of German goods, a move seen by opponents as undermining the boycott.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first boycott ever publicized against German products.

20 pp. Tears and losses to the wrapper (some repaired on the verso). The body of the pamphlet in good condition.