Dis-Chem Nails its Colours to the (Israeli) Mast

Ebrahim Moosa – Cii News (16-12-11)

Pro-Palestinian activists are up in arms after a major South African pharmacy chain harshly rebuffed calls by a consumer to remove Israeli goods from its shelves. The retailer, Dis-Chem, which boasts scores of stores across South Africa also stands accused of defending controversial Israeli occupation and military policies.

The fracas began when Fatima Moosa, a health enthusiast, raised an objection to the company’s stocking of Israeli products at a branch in Durban. In an online submission to the Dis-Chem website, she expressed her dissapointment that the store imported products from a country whose human rights violations she described as “replicating Hitler’s Nazism.” She further appealed to the company to consider removing Israeli products from its shelves.

Responding to her query, a Dis-Chem customer care officer briefly replied that the correspondence was brought to the attention of one of the company’s directors who ruled out removing Israeli products from the store’s shelves, providing no further explanation.

Unsatisfied, Moosa once again wrote to the store requesting that her sentiments be conveyed to the director in question. Citing a moral imperative, she appealed to him to distance the company from Israeli products just as a host of Jewish groups-both locally and abroad had censured the Israeli regime and called for sanctions against it.

After a lull in communication for almost a month, Moosa received an email response to her grievance from Dis-Chem group CEO Ivan Saltzman, this week. The director’s harsh tone and uneqovical defence of his company’s stance has been widely slated, with many calling it “arrogant” and proposing a boycott of the company.

Saltzman took serious offence to Moosa’s likening of Israel’s human rights violations to Nazism, calling it a “scurrilous slur.” He retorted by alleging that resistance groupings such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad were the “true modern day Nazis in the Middle East,” for what he called their aspirations to murder Israeli Jews. Israel, he said, went to extraordinary lengths to minimise civilian casulaties and has been extremely successful in this regard.”

Responding to Moosa’s call to boycott Israeli-made products, the CEO said that consumers were free to adopt such measures as citizens of a free country. He however took aim at what he saw as the shortcomings of such a strategy. Citing many examples of what he described as Israeli innovations – from computer chips, to stents, diabetes patches and drip irrigation – Saltzman told Moosa to consider carefully what she was boycotting.

“The list that Israel has given the world is very lengthy,” he added.

Saltzman pledged that Dis-Chem would continue to sell Dead Sea products from Israel, picking another bone with Moosa and Palestinian supporters in the process.

“You know the Dead Sea has two shores. I wonder why the Jordanians or Palestinians(most come from Jordan) do not want to share this wonderful natural resource of the Dead Sea. I will not respond to any further correspondence on your subject.”

Moosa said she was very dissapointed with Saltzman’s response. In email correspondence in Cii’s possession, she pledged to take corrective action.

“I am a health enthusiast, and shop regularly at Dis-Chem. I am going to try my best to boycott Dis-Chem. By his [Saltzman's] response alone, you can judge where his allegiances lie.”

Attempts to reach Saltzman yesterday proved unsuccessful with a Dis-Chem staffer telling Cii that the CEO was currently on leave.

ebmoosa@ciibroadcasting.com

Ebrahim Moosa

Faaizah Tagari

Let us stand together in our fight to liberate Palestine, BOYCOTT ISRAELI PRODUCTS, BOYCOTT THOSE WHO SUPPORT ISRAEL. There are other alternatives we can choose from.

Ahmed K

all products with barcode starting with 79- are made in the jewish state…
these should be exposed and boycotted…
it’s true the jews are on top of the pile in the material world, but they are also
responsible for practicing the worst oppression on the Palestinians and others…
even if they invented the wheel, it does not detract from the fact that, the jewish-state
was built on thousands murdered, thousands made refugees, 700 villages destroyed,
and continual theft ,killing and oppression…
mr saltzman’s response shows very clearly, that some people are blind to the truth, and will
oppression, theft and murder, no matter what!

Ahmed K

… and will support oppression, no matter what…

Proud jewish

We wish you’d choose from any other possibility you have… We feel ashame that our products even get to your war-seeking hands!
But don’t get me wrong- you are more than welcome to start a real one instead of crying to the entire world how miserable you are.

Yahya

Ivan Saltzman’s repsonse is a defense to an attack made by Fathima Moosa. I disagree with the approach that Fathima Moosa made and it was clearly done to provoke in a negative way. Boycotting products made in Israel is no solution, why does Fathima Moosa not approach the South African government to impose heavier import duties on products that are sourced from Israel, this way you not stopping a person from trading but you making the competitiveness of the product harder to achieve, so this way if a company like Dischem still wants to sell Israel produced products they are most welcome but at a greater cost to them, and those consumers who wish to still buy the products must just pay more.

Baboo

My family has taken the decision to boycott Dischem with immediate effect.
And ppl i’v spoken to have made the same decision
Sparksport heres ur oppertunity to go big!!

Alan-dube

Baboo, hope u do a proper job with boycotting israel and turn ur cellphone and laptop off too!

Tabibulasnan

At least some have the guts to stand up to an oppressor. Like our brothers who stood up to slavery and Apartheid. Brothers Madiba and Malcolm X would sacrifice dead sea products, if only we could be half of what they were.

Yasmeen K

“Boycotting products made in Israel is no solution”

As a Muslim, your comment makes me sad. For your information, the reason why the apartheid regime in South Africa ended was largely due to economic BOYCOTT! Yet, it is no solution? I dismally fail to understand.

I, for one, won’t be shopping at Dischem after reading Saltzman’s response in which his disdain for Palestinians and Muslims could not have been clearer.

Abdullah

Comparing Israel with Nazi Germany is going to make the vast majority of Jews very angry. Perhaps there are not that many Jews in Overport, and the Islamic Schools there don’t do World War 2 History anymore, so we can forgive the lady’s ignorance. Nonetheless, this Saltzman’s response did show bigotry against Muslims, and I will think twice before shopping at Dischem.
Aasia

Typical Muslim response. CII did not verify the story nor does anyone tell Fatima she was wrong in her approach. Because muslims are rarely wrong right. Things like this make me ashamed to call myself Muslim. Sies!

Abdullah

Her approach was indeed rotten and lacking in good manners – exactly the wrong way to go about this. She provoked the man. HOWEVER, Saltzman’s response was just as bad. He had every opportunity to respond in a classy way, and if he had I would have had sympathy for him. However, he chose to give a bigoted, narrow-minded answer.

Tabibulasnan

The land drips with your brothers and sisters blood. You buying produce from this land. Understand, it upsets her.

Yasmeen K

Aasia, why exactly is Fatima’s approach ‘wrong’? Would you want her to sit back and do nothing, like the rest of us? Islam instructs its followers to stand out clearly against oppression. Israel is an oppressive state and more specifically, AHAVA steals Palestinian resources and the Israeli economy profits off it. I take my hat off to Fatima for having the courage that so many of us clearly lack.
Tabibulasnan

That’s because you most probably either stupid or an Israeli media promotor in disguise. Yes, we know about you sneaky buggers.

Maxwell

Congratulations Dischem.Fatima Moosa is free to shop where she likes. Why does she not take Muslim countries to task for their treatment of women as second class citizens and the curtailment of their rights.Typical selective morality of this group who drink despite their religious “ethics”

Gsolomon

Maxwell what a shame you have such a small limited mind, the arabs you so much speak about and clearly have little understanding of , who’s wives as you put it are treated as second class citizens, actually live in splendor beyond your wife’s dreams, don’t speak when you don’t have knowledge it makes you look stupid, travel the world and then give opinions , going to israel and looking at the conditions of certain individuals or groups does not give you the right to judge a nation, if jews are stealing other people’s land and killing innocents children that does not make all jews guilty of the same crime. “Blame and fight those who are guilty and protect those who are innocent ” even if they are not from your religion ” GOD created everyone equally and to live peacefully . on the matter of drinking dont label a community or a religion for the fault of a few. your faults are not your fathers and your fathers are not yours!!!!!
Xtremefc

Maxwell what a shame you have such a small limited mind, the arabs you so much speak about and clearly have little understanding of , who’s wives as you put it are treated as second class citizens, actually live in splendor beyond your wife’s dreams, don’t speak when you don’t have knowledge it makes you look stupid, travel the world and then give opinions , going to israel and looking at the conditions of certain individuals or groups does not give you the right to judge a nation, if jews are stealing other people’s land and killing innocents children that does not make all jews guilty of the same crime. “Blame and fight those who are guilty and protect those who are innocent ” even if they are not from your religion ” GOD created everyone equally and to live peacefully . on the matter of drinking dont label a community or a religion for the fault of a few. your faults are not your fathers and your fathers are not yours!!!!!

Ivan

Good responses are grea the fact is why should a business be told what to do in that manner.

If you dont want to buy Israeli goods dont’t but we will continue to support the Land of Israel, all it speople and and all its products. Well Done Dischem.

Tabibulasnan

More than 100 countries don’t recognise the state of Israel. I’m sure lots of racist South Africans find the idea of Israeli Apartheid nostalgic. Please understand the sarcasm, ask an english-speaking friend if moontlik.

John

Fathima I suggest you get your facts right. You should certainly not be talking about human rights when women in Arab states have little to no rights at all, in fact they enjoy more rights in Isreal than they do in their own countries. Isreal tries to minimise civilian casualties at times by warning their enemies before attacking them in self defence, so that civilians can leave the fighting zone. Of course this does not go down very well with your terrorists as they like hiding behind women and children – brave men.

On the other hand your suicide bombers actually target the Isreali civilians. So do not even talk about Human Rights as you do not know what it means as you have been so brain washed.

Why do you not also boycott Chinese products as their HR are deplorable. In case you do not know it, Syria is planting landmines on their borders to blow up their own people should they attempt to escape the violence in Syria.

John B

STR

i think you should get your facts right yes woman in arab states have to follow certain rules but thats just it only ARAB run states enforce those rules not islamic laws the misconception is that every arab is a muslim but in fact only 75% of arabs are muslim
so the holy Quraan does not state those laws!!! brain washed?? do some home work on the dvd the ARRIVALS and the tell me who is being brain washed
Tabibulasnan

Spot on John. Muslim women think and love. We should liberate them so that they fornicate and complain of their alcohol-induced flatulence like your women. Although you support the exploitation of women as pieces of flesh that should starve and hate one’s self in order to fit in, it is nice to see that you care about stopping ladies from covering their chests- apparently muslim women appreciate it if you talk to them and not their assets- how primitive. Please teach us how to live.

A Hindu

”
“I am a health enthusiast, and shop regularly at Dis-Chem. I am going to try my best to boycott Dis-Chem. By his [Saltzman's] response alone, you can judge where his allegiances lie.”” Yes Fathima, and judging by YOUR response, we can also judge where YOUR allegiances lie. This must really be one stupid, blinkered woman. The herd mentality of her and her ilk is most disturbing. If memory serves me correct, the Nazis that the esteemed Ms Moosa compares the Israel government with are the very same Nazis that most Muslims of the world approve of because of their mutual, unfounded, ignorant hatred of Jews. Well done, Saltzman. The world would be a much less brilliant place without Jewish people, who are less than 1% of the world’s population but more than 20% of the Nobel Prizes.

Tabibulasnan

Are you still washing the feet of your bollywood guru’s islamophobia? Islam conquered india a long time ago. The shahs were so good to us indians that hindus worshipped half of them. The British came, raped our great grand mothers; gave us a humiliating knock-off of their hollywood propoganda and we now align ourselves with the oppressive minority. You choose humiliation and degredation, that is why india will never boast a movie that was not originally defecated from a zionist/freemason mind. Proof of this lies in the dressing and slang-usage of your daughters. Gandhi Jee would be furious at your slave-mentality.

Alan

If you dont want to buy Israeli goods dont’t but we will continue to support the Land of Israel, all it speople and and all its products. Goodluck with boycotting Israel and make sure u do it properly! Boycott everything Israeli – not just what suits u!Well Done Dischem.

Aisha, UK

Gud for u! I’ve boycotted everything israeli from t time i could remember whats right & what’s wrong & will also continue to support palestine & its people & pray for peace & that 1 day they will get back what is rightfully theirs!!!

Esther Herman

To Whomever Cares, mainly Fatima, sadly I think you are very misinformed about the Israeli/Muslim issue. Firstly, if you studied your lessons you’d realise your behaviour and attitude is not in keeping with the real Islamic faith. Secondly half brothers and sisters should not fight, or belittle one another.
You should channel your energies toward silly politicians who do stupid things and prevent the people living in their command from developing and growing. Stop buying from Discem if that is what you want! A woman of substance, maybe someone like you, should put energy into those people who TODAY in many African countries are being hurt in the name of ISLAM. South Africa has gone through enough nastiness, wasn’t Apartheid BIG enough for you, why can’t you help people to learn the ethos of the New South Africa; tolerance…!!!!
Jfp

Really funny. Her likening Israel to Hitler. Especially ironic when everyone knows that although all Muslims are not terrorists, by far and away the majorty of terrorists are Muslims. People like Fathima need to get their priorities straight, especially as far as their own backyards are concerned.
John
msa

When does the madness end…?
http://dreamlife.wordpress.com/ Dreamlife

With regard to this whole email debacle, what comes across from the start is Fathima’s assumption that everyone else should agree with her and support this cause.

The fact is that this is a secular country, and most people here are not Muslim. And many don’t sympathise with our causes.

Many people don’t know what’s really going on in Palestine (since the mainstream media isn’t very balanced), or they simply don’t care – because this is painted as a religious conflict rather than a liberation struggle; and in their minds, it’s not something that concerns them – even given our country’s history.

Fathima certainly did provoke the tone of this correspondence in using the kind of comparison she did – so aggression should have been expected in response.

As Muslims, we need to stop getting so hyper (i.e. reacting emotionally) about things like this when people disagree with us. We have to first look at the perspective of the others, and then think of what would be the most effective way to get our message across.

Yes, we all know about the occupation and wish others would agree on issues like these products, but we have to really present the case as one of a justice and liberation struggle – with calmness, dignity, and wisdom – rather than getting worked up and showing the non-muslims that we’re trigger-happy people that call for boycotts at the drop of a hat.

We’ll always have people that disagree and people that argue, but that is a fact of life, and we should handle such debates with the best of speech and wisdom – not attacking others, but using Islamic principles and character to present the truth; rather than just being emotional. Emotional reactions and attacking others doesn’t win respect…rational, wise arguments get people thinking and can, insha-Allah, make a difference.

Tabibulasnan

If you don’t want to boycott an oppressive state that is killing your brothers and sisters, then you have you Lord to answer to; as do we all. Just because you don’t want to sacrifice, doesn’t make it a poor cause. No words are better than bad words.

http://dreamlife.wordpress.com/ Dreamlife

I didn’t say don’t boycott. DO boycott!

BUt i mean we can’t impose OUR issues on non-Muslims. We can’t expect ALL South Africans to sympathise – because they get their info from other sources, and they have their own biases.

My comment is NOT to call this a ‘poor cause’ – it’s a very noble cause, and one i definitely support.

My issue is expecting others – who don’t share our deen or our understanding of the issue – to go along with us.

There are different causes in the world, and humanity is varied. We can’t impose our views on others. We can’t expect them to agree with us – it’s not our RIGHT to have them do what we want them to do.

What we can and should do is spread the message in the best, wisest ways. Not go around as if we’re entitled to their support. Because we’re not. We have to EARN their support – we can’t assume they should just support us by default.

islamiaphobics.

Fathima,

Thank you for opening up our eyes on Dis-Chems allegience.. Trully grateful. What you’ve done is actually a form of Jihaad. For all those who mis-understand the concept of Jihaad, she did her part in protecting Palestine…
Shukrn…
Lail

Assalamu Alaikum to all the Muslims here , and welcome to all the unbelievers . I hereby give you UN resolution 2649 (1970) : ” People under colonial and alien domination recognized as being entitled to the right to self determination to restore to themselves that right [by any means at their disposal ] : so basically , fatima’s approach is completely sound in terms of international law . we are muslims we must do whatever is in our power to restore the oppressed people their land . dont detract from her main points . if you dont like what she had to say go and argue with the UN : the words by any means necessary means ; do whatever it takes , but do take a stand . sincerely … MRS SMITH
Naasief

Like Mr Saltzman says, as citizens of a free country we can make our own choices.
And I choose to boycott Dis-Chem.
Haven’t bought anything there in months.
Ebrahimcarim

There is hadeeth or part of a hadeeth where the Prophet sallalahu alihi wasallam clearly explains a kaafir no matter how good he may seem.AL KUFR MILLATUN WAHIDATUN…KUFR IS ONE RELIGION.In other words if he is a kaafir you should always be wary of him.Always rememember that there can never be ANY good in a person who doesnt believe in ALLAH TAALA or the risalat of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.As far as boycotting any israeli goods a very meritorious act but remember that it is or will be almost impossible to boycott every product made by the jews who support israel.Yes what we can all do we can remove these people and there lifestyles from our hearts.ALLAH TAALA give us all taufeeq

Jesse Michaelson

There are also scriptures in other religions that say exactly the same thing about muslims or people who believe in allah! So carry on believing your hadeeth, we’ll carry on living in the real world.

Proud SA Jew kaafir…. Steve

Boycott all Jewish products…. But do it right! Do your research thorouly, I implore you…
Do your holy jihad against the Jews and the rest of the worlds “kafirs”…. The only jihad you’ll know is the fundamental stupidity that characterizes you small, frail minds….