Dec. 5, 2022
TORONTO — B’nai Brith Canada is pleased that Walmart Canada has responded positively to our organization’s concerns that an item sacred in the Jewish religion was depicted frivolously as a beach towel for women.
The item was a tallit (a Jewish prayer shawl). It was depicted in offensive fashion by a third-party seller on Walmart’s website as an “Elegant Sunscreen Scarves Sun Block Shawl Scarf Beach Shawl Towel.”
Walmart quickly acknowledged B’nai Brith’s complaint and acted rapidly to remove the item.
B’nai Brith had alerted Walmart through its Twitter account of the offensive description. The corporation responded to B’nai Brith that it would remove the listing after it conducted an investigation. Walmart apologized for the offence.
“We appreciate Walmart’s immediate response and resolution,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada. “The listing and description were disturbing to members of the Canadian Jewish community and appeared to be deriding the religious significance of a tallit. Walmart showed tremendous corporate responsibility by heeding our concerns, investigating, following up, taking immediate action and removing the listing.
“At a time when antisemitism, Jewish hatred and general forms of bigotry are surging, the last thing we need to see is a listing making light of a sacred religious object on one of Canada’s most popular commerce sites. That is why we are so pleased to see Walmart act this quickly and hope other merchants take note.”
