December 16, 2004
Bracelet Bandwagon
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Don't wear your heart on your sleeve -- wear it on your wrist. And with the new Shalom bracelet, you can. The Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles is distributing 25,000 of the blue elastic bands adorned with a white dove and the word "Shalom" throughout the community.
It carries a simple message: Israel wants peace.
Yael Swerdlow, director of media relations at the consulate, said the target audience for the bracelets is a universal one.
"They are for anyone who wants peace," Swerdlow said. "We are getting requests from all over the country, from yeshivas in New Jersey to human rights activists that vilify Israel. It's an opening to dialogue."
The public relations department at the consulate came up with the idea for the bracelets using Lance Armstrong's yellow "Livestrong" bracelet as their inspiration. Bracelets are all the rage this year, with the yellow bands leading the pack. Although unlike the free blue Consulate bracelets, the yellow ones sell for $1 in Nike stores with profits benefiting cancer patients. Similar bracelet campaigns include several varieties of pink bracelets that support cancer research. They include the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation bracelet (five for $5), the Melissa Etheridge bracelet (one for $5), and Target's Share Beauty, Spread Hope bracelet (10 for $10).
Jewish organizations may have been ahead of the craze. AllforIsrael.org is currently selling silver memorial bracelets, engraved with the name of victims of terror, for $2. Hillel and various synagogues nationwide began selling the bracelets in 2003, a concept created by the Israel Solidarity Fund in 2000.
"People wear this jewelry to make a statement," Swerdlow said, "and we hope to make ours."
To get your Shalom bracelet send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles, 6380 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Attention: Consul Yariv Ovadia.
