SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE - EUROPE
Tel. +33-147237637 - Fax: +33-147208401
E-mail: csweurope@gmail.com

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre brought to the attention of INDITEX - the Spanish mother corporation of the household name ZARA - a T-shirt redolent of Nazi camp apparel upon its appearance on the company's online catalogue.

Featured as "the Sheriff T-Shirt" due to its six-pointed star, the Centre's European President Richard Odier, and Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, demanded the immediate removal and destruction of this "offensive object from ZARA stock and its withdrawal from catalogues wherever sold," also urging "an enquiry leading to dismissal of those staff and suppliers responsible."

Within five hours, the Centre received the attached reply from INDITEX General Counsel, Antonio Abril Abadin, acceding to all its requests. The apology mentioned that " ZARA is a company with more than 50 stores in Israel and is very close to the Jewish tradition, mainly thanks to .....the Simon Wiesenthal Centre."

Download letter here: http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7B54d385e6-f1b9-4e9f-8e94-890c3e6dd277%7D/ZARA-V.2.PDF

Samuels added that "at the height of the Intifada in 2003, ZARA sponsored the sale of toys produced by an Israeli special needs community, with the help of the Wiesenthal Centre."

The INDITEX letter continued, "we have already started an internal enquiry to know every detail of the chain of command and [there will be] consequences to .....this incident," while, "we can explore initiatives with the [Centre's] Museum of Tolerance....to educate and train our people in this important matter."

"In view of these goodwill apologies and measures, we consider the rapid resolution and crisis management by INDITEX- ZARA as a model case -study for other companies - especially those that succumb to BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions)," concluded Odier.

For further information contact Shimon Samuels on 0609770158, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).