I love Scotch, and I paskin like the London Beth Din that every single Scotch is kosher. But I love Israel as well, and I particularly don’t like people picking on Israel. So, I support fully counter-boycotting against Scotch’s made in the area where their local council is boycotting Israel. From the best analysis I have seen, Auchentoshen is the Scotch to boycott. Now, Auchentoshan is not my favorite Scotch, so I’m kind of happy that it is really the only Scotch, readily available in America, that is clearly produced and distilled in the West Dunbartonshire (WDS) part of Scotland, where a majority of the local council has voted various boycotts of Israel – including not allowing Israeli books in the local library. The most precise report of what is and is not produced in this shire comes from Joshua E. London, of the Jewish Single Malt Whiskey Society, who is critical of the boycott. But even he admits the viciousness of the WDS local council toward Israel, and that Auchentoshen, while owned by a Japanese conglomerate, is distilled and produced in WDS.
I don’t like boycotts because of policy differences, but when someone boycotts Israel, we must send them a clear message that not only will they suffer, but all their supporters suffer. People in WDS need to understand that if their elected officials pick on Israel, it is their responsibility to remove them from office. I want the world to know that there are millions of consumers and advocates who will fight against any boycott of Israel. These boycotts are not only ignorant and vicious, they are immoral as well. The distillers and producers of Scotch, have to tell that to elected and unelected officials: if you live in a place that discriminates against Israel, or if you are a school which allows students to harm pro-Israel students and speakers, your competitors will benefit and you will lose. That’s the new order. Maybe these crazy socialist/communist/Marxist councils will pick on someone else.
I’m not impressed that Auchentoshen is working to get KLBD hashgacha for their drinks; Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, refused to give hashgacha for any Scotch in his days, because he believed all of it was kosher. I still hold of the London Beth Din’s rule that it is all kosher. In fact, I would suggest that the KLBD, the hashgacha of the London Beth Din, raise the issue of the WDS boycott of Israel in their discussions regarding the kashrut of Auchentashen. The Scotch companies claim that it is not their fault that the local council has voted to boycott Israel; they are just a company and cannot influence elections. I ask then, that these companies who feel they can’t speak up, and universities who claim that they have to allow free speech to students that disrupt Israeli speakers, make a donation to the Friends of the IDF to show that they have nothing against Israel. Or, make a donation to Zaka or Hatzala or even Magen David Adom, any Israeli program that helps victims of Arab terrorism. If they make those donations, and are open about those donations, then I would accept that as a demonstration of their good will.
We in the Diaspora are generally not sending our kids to fight for Israel, nor are we living in Israel and subjecting ourselves to all the risks that Israelis face every day. We are enjoying the bounty of America or some other foreign land. The least we can do is send a message of support for Israel with everything with partake of – whether it is Scotch, higher education, or anything else that God has blessed us with the means of purchasing. Let those who support Israel be blessed and let those who would want to harm Israel face the consequences. God has given us the means of making this world a little more just – let us not shirk our responsibility. Yes, let us drink responsibly!
Rabbi Asher Lopatin
