Pro-Israel Swag Brand Proclaims That It’s ‘Combatting BDS’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
From protest slogans to performative support hashtags (a la #timesup) — proclaiming one’s identity and opinion sartorially is trendy. And for people who are pro-Israel and anti-BDS, One948 will provide the swag you need to wear your opinion on your sleeve.
One948, a play on the year of Israel’s founding, is an apparel company created by entrepreneurs Brian Horowitz and Matt Stahm which is dedicated to promoting Jewish and Israeli culture.
There is the Supreme-esque “Mensch” and “Motek” shirts and sweatshirts, tees in various colors celebrating Yom Haatzmaut with “Party like it’s 1948” in a vintage-looking font, and the requisite “Israel Warrior” with the image of a kippah-ed person with warrior face paint.
By making Israel and Jewish culture appear “cool,” they hope to combat the effects of BDS — an organization that seeks to delegitimize the existence of Israel. “We’re giving all Israel supporters a unique opportunity to stand up against anti-Israel propaganda in a creative way,” explains Stahm.
Image by One948
In 2016, Horowitz and Stahm started a Kickstarter campaign and raised over $21,000 to start their business.
“After our success with online fundraising, pro-Israel organizations reached out and asked us if we could create their logo-branded swag,” Horowitz explains. “These organizations saw an opportunity to make a positive impact on Israel.”
In 2017, they created 48promo.com to enable nonprofits to create logo-branded merch to promote their organizations and events.
Since One948’s inception, the founders have donated 10% of its yearly profits to charity. This year, they have chosen Save A Child’s Heart, an Israeli charity whose mission is to improve pediatric cardiac care in developing countries “regardless of race, religion, gender or nationality”, as the sole recipient of this donation.
Helping save lives while sporting “Mensch” merch? #swaggoals.
Michelle Honig is the style writer at the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] and Twitter.
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