I was inspired to write this article by my friend Elmira Zadissa, with whom I’ve been discussing the importance of value-driven business practices.

I moved from Wix to Squarespace about a month or so ago. I realised way too late that Wix is based in Israel. I had used it since 2018 to host my website! When I received my end-of-year invoice, I realised their office is in Tel Aviv.

I am a member of the BDS Movement (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction), which shows solidarity with Palestine and Palestinian people by boycotting the Israeli government. To massively simplify it, the Israeli government and army have suppressed the rights of Palestine for decades. By using our voice – and our wallets – we choose not to support Israeli companies since they operate within a space that supports the government.

I don’t know why I dropped the ball this time and didn’t research Wix. I’m very sorry! I have boycotted Israeli brands since university, and normally always do my research before supporting a new brand. I follow the BDS Movement’s guidelines in solidarity with organisations I support.

That doesn’t make Squarespace blameless, of course! It’s a US-based company, so I’m supporting a private company that may use its profits to support causes I would not agree with. I have no control over that, though, and it’s a much lesser evil to me, so I’ve moved over.

I started looking for a new internet provider when Wix’s fees skyrocketed. I have a lot of blog posts, and if I’d crossed a certain threshold of usage, my monthly fees would have gone up to €50, which is far too much!

This was the first prompt that made me look for an alternative. I discovered Wix was simultaneously part of the BDS Movement, so this seemed like kismet.

I hope to one day be able to host this website myself, but until then, I’ll continue with Squarespace. I wanted to share this behind-the-scenes look in the interests of full transparency and to take responsibility for this oversight.

We’re all human and make mistakes. But it’s only fair that if I call out discriminatory practices, I’m honest about my mistakes and challenges. Onwards!