Right or Wrong: Customer Pressures Store to Post Sign in Support of Israel

The war in the Middle East has generated a war of words thousands of miles away in the US, where there are as many Jews as there are in Israel. Passionate voices are arising at rallies, at religious centers, online and on lawn signs.

To what extent should local businesses take a position on the conflict? Do customers have the right to demand that all the vendors they patronage express a view?

That’s the question that arose at a local store where a good customer asked the owners to place a sign demonstrating support for Israel outside the store. If they refused, it was understood that she would take her business elsewhere.

Here’s the response she received from the storeowner. What do you think about this issue? Please comment below:

Dear _________________:

We completely stand with Israel and condemn Hamas and their barbaric attack on Israeli citizens.

We are donating money to the IDF and to United Hatzalah and praying for peace in Israel.

With that said, we have to recognize that we live in a world where lunatics roam the streets and wish to do harm to Israel and its supporters.

While we completely stand with Israel, we decided to post the sign you gave us above the register inside the store so that it is visible to all but will not attract the attention of some lone wolf looking to do the dirty work of Hamas.

Often times, there is only one salesperson and one teenager in the store, and we have to consider the safety of the employees. It is indeed a sad state of affairs when posting a sign in support of a democratic state against terrorism could be dangerous.

We hope that you understand,
Am Yisrael Chai

Do you stand with the customer, the store, Israel? Share your thoughts below.