New ‘BDS Tour’ Of Israel Allows Travelers To Boycott From Up Close

“With Woke Tours, there is no need to sacrifice the world-famous cuisine, culture and beaches of Tel Aviv – a center of LGBTQ life – just because one wants to make a political statement.”

Tel Aviv, April 3 – A developing trend of socially aware international travel has tourism companies offering packages that cater to those sensibilities, with the latest iteration a trip to Israel that enables participants to embrace the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions strategy through direct and pointed rejection of Israeli goods and services at their source.

Woke Tours, a new initiative by American entrepreneurs, aims to blend comfortable, even luxury, travel with progressive action in support of important causes. Travelers who wish to burnish their progressive credentials by taking part in a prominent display of BDS activism can choose from one-week or two-week packages, both of which blend renowned Israeli hospitality with public snubbing of Israeli establishments selected by Woke’s research staff.

Last month, the group of social activist businesspeople launched Woke via coordinated campaigns in Boston, New York, and multiple college campuses across the US, and has so far attracted dozens of participants. The program takes up to twenty enlightened travelers at a time to Jerusalem, Haifa, and various portions of the West Bank, where, in a move coordinated with the right media outlets, the group vocally refuses to engage the services, or purchase the products of, an Israeli enterprise.

“Staying in a luxury hotel in Tel Aviv is a must for travelers of a certain slice of the American liberal demographic,” explained founder Phineas Barnum. “With Woke Tours, there is no need to sacrifice the world-famous cuisine, culture and beaches of Tel Aviv – a center of LGBTQ life – just because one wants to make a political statement. Woke integrates the best of what Israel has to offer with the progressive mission of the BDS movement, and features the unparalleled customer service and amenities of El Al’s first or business class transatlantic service.”

“In the morning, we take our travelers to establishments such as SodaStream,” he elaborated, “where they can pointedly refuse to buy any beverage appliances or supplies, in support of the Palestinian cause. Then we engage a driver, security escort, and other relevant personnel so we can take a well-appointed bus into the Occupied Territories and refuse to enter Jewish settlements, unless someone needs a bathroom.” He stressed that the bus is wifi-equipped, using only the latest Israeli technology to enable participants constant use of their Israeli-technology-enabled mobile devices.

“Just this week we took a group to the Golan Heights Winery, where a wine-tasting was held, and our clients then made a show of not buying anything,” he recounted.

“Then in the afternoon and evening we avail ourselves of unrivaled night life,” he concluded. “This is the perfect blend of social activism and luxury travel that our target audience is looking for, and we have received enthusiastic response from our clients.”

Woke plans to expand its activities to include more progressive content, including visits to concrete portions of Israel’s Separation Barrier, where travelers can apply graffiti by means of locally manufactured spray paint.

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