Israel Matzav

Europeans seethe as H&M opens in Israel

As the 'Palestinian' loving Europeans seethed in anger, Swedish fashion house H&M opened its first Israeli store in Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center on Thursday. The store was mobbed.

Hundreds of enthusiastic shoppers waited outside the first local H&M store on Thursday, as the Swedish-owned fashion house opened their first store in Israel in Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Center.

Immediately after the count down, dozens of customers ran into the store, practically trampling two baby strollers in their rush to enter, Channel 2 reported. Passersby managed to save the babies while shoppers continued to flow into the store.

“This place looks like the site of a terror attack,” one shopper told the television station.

Meanwhile in Europe, anti-Israel organizations in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the UK, Austria, Canada and Ireland were planning to demonstrate on Thursday evening against H&M’s decision to open shops in Israel.

According to Army Radio, a young Jewish man named Jonathan Sanchek, organized the protests. “This protest is about H&M opening in Israel, while it continues the occupation and in settlement construction. The Goldstone Report was published recently, and we think that one cannot open a store in Israel until it starts obeying international law,” the radio station quoted him as saying.

Well of course the guy organizing the demonstrations in Europe. What did you expect?

H&M plans to open a second store in Jerusalem's Malcha mall soon.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:37 AM