Footage flooded social media on Friday of Israeli Arabs burning clothing sold by Zara, calling for a boycott of the fashion chain after its local franchisee hosted a campaign event for firebrand politician Itamar Ben Gvir.
The night prior, Joey Schwebel, a Canadian-Israeli, hosted the far-right lawmaker at his home in Ra’anana, central Israel. Schwebel chairs Trimera Brands, a fashion distribution giant that is the Israeli franchisee for Zara, controlling Zara Israel and other brands.
Ben Gvir heads the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit faction, which is running in Israel’s November 1 election with the Religious Zionism bloc and is expected to win up to 12 seats in parliament.
Several Israeli Arabs posted videos of themselves burning clothes they previously purchased at the Zara retailer or calling for a boycott of the brand.
Fayez Abu Sahiba, mayor of the predominantly Bedouin city of Rahat in southern Israel, joined in on the protests, describing Zara as “fascist” for Schwebel’s support of Ben Gvir.
“Our stance needs to be clear in relation to shops like these that support fascism,” he said.
Arab lawmaker Ahmed Tibi, who has frequently clashed with Ben Gvir in parliament, also took to Twitter to call out the “ugliness” of Zara.
In response to Tibi’s tweet, Ben Gvir wrote: “Zara, beautiful clothes, beautiful Israelis."