Dear all,
As you might have heard H&M is opening its first out of six planned stores in Israel on the 11th March, and they are proudly doing so. The text below is a quick translation from Swedish (pardon the bad translation). H&M is a Swedish company therefore the BDS affiliated groups in Sweden will be handing out flyers outside H&M shops in Sweden on the 11th of March, we hope that you can do the same outside your local H&M store.
We believe a statement from groups across Europe would be strong indicator for H&M that investing in Israel is not cheap and will not pass unchecked.
We can give a deadline until Friday evening (this week) for your organization to join the statement, after that we go public. Please spread the word. If we can show that Europeans as well as Swedes don’t want H&M in Israel as long as the occupation continues that will make a strong impact on H&M.
Please spread widely to all your contacts in the following countries.
Material for flyers and press will soon be available.
H&M is located in the following countries:
Canada
United States
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Bahrain
Egypt
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
China
Hong Kong
Japan
South Korea
Thank you,
Jonatan Stanczak
BDS coordinator in Sweden and member of Jews for Israeli Palestinian Peace in Sweden
Press Release
On the 11th of March the Swedish clothes and fashion store H&M is opening its first out of six planned stores in Israel. The familiar red H&M sign will be visible in the Malcha shopping centre in Jerusalem, a city gradually cleansed of its Palestinian population to be replaced by Jewish-Israeli settlements.
H&M is thus investing in Israel at the same time as the UN Goldstone commission and international organizations that H&M is cooperating with, such as UNICEF and the UN, report about Israel”s crimes against international law and human rights.
About a year ago several Swedish organizations gave attention to H&M”s plans to establish in Israel and demanded an announcement from H&M. The management denounced the rumors but refused to give a written statement. Today the establishment has been made public.
– We believe that our business idea will work well in Israel. Through our franchise partner we will have access to many years of experience and networks in Israel, says Rolf Eriksen, CEO at H&M.
Dror Feiler, chairperson of European Jews for a Just Peace says that H&M”s choice of time for its establishment in Israel is particularly distasteful, coming at a time when Israel”s crimes are raised in the Goldstone report and are being condemned by other international organizations.
– H&M contributes to a shift of focus from Israel”s war crimes to that of fashion, investments and commerce, says Dror Feiler.
Today the following organizations demand that H&M postpone their establishment in Israel until Israel respects international law in line with the UN resolutions. While H&M opens its first store in Israel, H&M customers in Sweden will be made aware of the company”s lack of good judgment and double standards.
Jews for Israeli Palestinian Peace – Sweden
Palestine Solidarity Association in Sweden
The Palestinian Association in Stockholm
Alternative Information Centre – Israel/Palestine
Jí¼dische Stimme fí¼r einen gerechten Frieden in Nahost – Austria
