Bookstores boycott
Photo: AFP
Pro-Palestinian groups call for boycott of IDF donor
Coalition against Israeli Apartheid in Canada launches campaign to boycott bookstores owned by Jewish billionaire who supports lone Israeli soldiers
Pro-Palestinian groups in Canada have launched a campaign to boycott a chain of bookstores whose Canadian Jewish owners are major donors to lone soldiers in the Israeli army.
The Coalition against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) in Canada last week launched a boycott of Chapter and Indigo bookstores, which are owned by billionaire Gerry Schwartz and his wife Heather Reisman.
Coalition members accused Schwartz and his wife of supporting the Israeli army's oppression of the Palestinians by donating money to lone soldiers.
Palestinian as well Canadian members of the CAIA rioted last week outside an Indigo bookstore where Reisman attended a book signing ceremony.
Chapter and Indigo owe up to 250 stores across Canada.
Protesters accused Schwartz and his wife of supporting the continued oppression of the Palestinians through their Heseg fund, which offers financial support to over 200 lone soldiers.
Protesters also called on the couple to "stop aiding the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories and Israel's apartheid policies."
The couple refused to comment on the boycott campaign but an associate said they would not be deterred from donating to Israeli funds.
