Wiesenthal Centre Commends Spanish Fashion Chain For Immediate Withdrawal Of Swastika Handbags From Its Stores

WIESENTHAL CENTRE COMMENDS SPANISH FASHION CHAIN FOR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL OF SWASTIKA HANDBAGS FROM ITSSTORES

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre learned from its members of the sale of ladies' purses adorned with the swastika at severaloutlets of Spain's global retail fashion chain, Inditex-Zara.

The Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr.Shimon Samuels, called on the company “to condemn, investigate and withdraw all such items forthwith as an offence to the memory of50 million victims of Nazism and an encouragement to contemporary neo-Nazi hatemongers.”

Inditex Corporate Social Responsibility Vice President, Javier Chercoles, responded within hours,explaining that “handicraft items from India...feature symbols resembling swastikas,” stressing that “neither the craftspeople nor sales staff made this connection.”

The letter continued, “Inditex Sourcing, Sales and Management Teams fully understand your expression of concern given the significance of this symbol in the execution of the Holocaust andapologize for any offence caused and consequently we condemn this issue.”

Inditex expressed the wish “to co-operate with the Wiesenthal Centre to understand how this unfortunate oversight couldhave occurred and to avoid its repetition.”

Chercoles confirmed that all such designs “have now been withdrawn from sale.”

Samuels responded that “in view of these measures, Inditex franchising of Zara outlets in Israel and its support forIsraeli handicapped, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre considers that the swastika affair has served as a useful learning exercise for the company and its peers and that the matter has beenresolved.”

“The Centre will work closely with Inditex management to ensure greater sensitivity in the future,” concludedSamuels.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.

For further information contact Shimon Samuels at +33609770158 or the Wiesenthal Center Public Relations department,310-553-9036.