TORONTO BOOKSTORE PICKETED FOR ISRAEL DONATION

Toronto bookstore picketed for Israel donation (JTA)
Protesters picketed a Toronto bookstore because its owners made a donation to an Israeli cause.
A group of about 25 picketers waved Palestinian flags this week on Bay Street as they urged a boycott of the Indigo bookstore chain because its owners, Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz, contributed to an organization that assists Israeli soldiers.

The Canadian Jewish News reported Dec. 21 that Reisman and Schwartz pledged to fund 100 scholarships annually for the next three years through the Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers, a charitable organization that assists Israel Defense Force graduates without parents or extended family in Israel.

The protesters said they were from the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid.

Timed to coincide with the pre-Christmas rush, their protest “appeared ineffective judging by the throngs lined up at the cash” register, according to one report.