The Israeli arm of global fashion brand Zara has faced criticism after its CEO hosted far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir at a roundtable event at his home.
Mr Ben-Gvir, who has campaigned for the proscribed Kahanist movement, met with Zara's Israel franchisee Canadian-Israeli Joey Schwebel for a campaign event last week.
Kahanist ideology argues that non-Jews should not have voting rights in Israel, and has described Israeli-Arabs as enemies of both Jews and the Israeli state. The Kach party was outlawed in 1994 when a supporter Baruch Goldstein killed 29 Muslim worshipers and wounded a further 150 in a shooting in Hebron.
Mr Ben-Gvir, a Religious Zionist Party Knesset member, has also previously said that Arab-Israelis who are disloyal to Israel "must be expelled".
In response to the event, Mayor of the Israeli-Arab city of Rahat Fayez Abu Souhaiban has urged people to “burn these [Zara] clothes,” and called on “fellow citizens to boycott this company,” while he filmed himself setting an item of clothing alight.
لأن #فلسطين تستحق قاطعوا شركة @zara بعد الكشف عن الدعم الذي يقدمه وكيل الشركة في فلسطين المحتلة لعضو الكنيست المتطرف "إيتمار بن غفير" وحملته الانتخابية التي تطالب بإبادة الفلسطينيين وتهجيرهم.
— Ibtihal (@IbtihalGaza) October 23, 2022
Boycott @zara for supporting terrorism! #Boycottzara#قاطعوا_زارا pic.twitter.com/jZkKli3258
The Arab-Israeli Ta'al party MK Ahmad Tibi slammed the "ugliness" of the event, to which Mr Ben-Gvir hit back: "Zara, beautiful clothes, beautiful Israelis."
Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have since condemned Zara for Mr Schwebel’s meeting.
Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor and the PA’s chief religious justice Mahmoud al-Habbash has issued a fatwa against people dealing with the firm and has urged similar decrees from Muslim groups worldwide until the firm severs ties with Mr Schwebel.
Israeli Arabs are calling for a boycott of @ZARA following the revelation that Israeli franchise owner Joey Schwebel hosted a campaign event for racial supremacist Itamar Ben Gvir. "A company that supports him has no place among us," protesters said, burning the brand's clothes. pic.twitter.com/A3UWkMqCHd
— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي💙 (@NTarnopolsky) October 21, 2022
There is speculation that next Tuesday’s general election, Israel’s fifth in the last four years, could elevate his nationalist alliance to the third biggest voting bloc in the Knesset. Former Prime Minister Netanyahu has been rumoured to be considering forming an alliance with Ben-Gvir to help his path back to power.
Zara has previously been accused of antisemitism after in 2014 it sold a children’s t-shirt that resembled concentration camp uniforms worn by Jewish inmates, bearing blue and white striped and a yellow star.
Last year, it was also been investigated over alleged ties to forced Uyghur labour camps in Northwest China.
The firm was also criticised last year when Palestinian model Qaher Harhash revealed messages in which a head designer said “Israelis don’t teach children to hate nor throw stones at soldiers as your people do,” and that Ms Harhash’s profession “is against what the Muslim faith believes in”.
The JC has approached Zara for comment.
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