Chapters/Indigo Books Boycott Campaign Info (Vancouver)
Vancouver's Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign was recently formed by a group of solidarity and community based organizations and is having its first event this Saturday, May 12, 2007. We will be at the Chapters Bookstore on Robson Street, in downtown Vancouver, between 12-4pm handing out leaflets to patrons and pedestrians. It is a very busy location and we are hoping to attract great attention and raise awareness of the Heseg "Lone Soldier" Fund, founded by Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz - majority owners of Chapters and Indigo bookstores.
This local campaign was inspired by the work of a group in Toronto, CAIA, and we are thankful for all the resources and research that has gone into this campaign from the CAIA members. We also appreciate the use of their materials for local distribution.
The Vancouver groups involved in this campaign are: Trade Union Movement for Justice in the Middle East, Palestine Community Centre, No One Is Illegal, Canada Palestine Support Network, Canada Palestine Association, International Solidarity Movement, Jews for Just Peace, Palestine Human Rights Committee- SFU.
Wendy Alnuweiri
PCC Secretary
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On Saturday, May 12th, the Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign will officially launch a boycott against Chapters and Indigo Bookstores with a picket in front of the downtown Chapters at 788 Robson St. The campaign demands and end to the financial ties between the majority owners of Chapters/Indigo and the Israeli Military.
Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz - majority owners of Chapters and Indigo bookstores - are the founders of the "Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers," which provides scholarships and other financial support to soldiers in the Israeli Military on the basis of need and military 'achievement'. At its peak, the foundation will distribute up to $3,000,000 annually to former 'Lone Soldiers' - individuals without family in Israel who have chosen to join the Israeli military and remain in the country permanently. As Israeli soldiers, they participate in a military that enforces the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and has a well-documented history of human-rights violations and war crimes.
Many members of the Heseg Board of Directors are high-ranking Israeli military personnel. Board member Lt. Colonel Mike Hartmen joined the IDF as a lone soldier and is now "head of the marksmanship and sharpshooters section of the IDF." Board member Major General (Res.) Doron Almog was Commander of the IDF's Southern Command from 2000-2003. In 2005, a warrant was issued in the UK for his arrest on suspicion of war crimes.
Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz own or control over 68% of the shares in Indigo Books and Music Inc. which owns and operates bookstores under the names Indigo, Chapters, World's Biggest Bookstore, SmithBooks, Coles, The Book Company and Indigospirit. Reisman is chair and CEO of Indigo Books and Music Inc.
In launching the Chapters/Indigo boycott in Vancouver, we will be joining Victoria, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax in a nation-wide boycott to demand that Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz publicly announce that they will cut all financial ties to the Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
* Join us for the picket on Saturday May 12th.
* Tell friends and relatives not to shop at Chapters/Indigo. Encourage
them to support independent book retailers!
* Write/fax/phone the board of Indigo/Chapters demanding a public
renunciation of Reisman and Schwartz's financial support to the Heseg
Foundation for Lone Soldiers:
Indigo Board of Directors
500-468 King St W Toronto ON, MSV 1L8
Tel: (416) 364-4499
Fax: (416) 364-0355
*To endorse this boycott, please contact us at 604-220-0451 or
boycottapartheid@gmail.com
*Get in touch with the Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign at
boycottapartheid@gmail.com to find out more ways to support the
campaign.