Two Italian retail chains look back nostalgically to the days when Jewish businesses were labeled as such and shunned by Nazis and those who feared them. “Mideast: Frattini, Coop-Conad Initiative Dangerous and Racist,” from ANSAmed, May 26 (thanks to Insubria):
(ANSAmed) – WASHINGTON, MAY 26 – An initiative that “introduces an extremely dangerous element of racism in the market dynamics”, said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini from Washington, regarding the decision of Coop and Conad – two Italian large-scale retail chains – to suspend the sale of some fruit and vegetable products from the occupied Palestinian Territories, of which the exact origin has not been established. The Minister continued that this is a “dangerous and hasty initiative” which “groups political and economic questions and damages the development of the entire area. Choosing a product on its origins and not its quality could lead to racist dynamics”, particularly in this case, “in which the case involves Israeli products, because they are Jews”. Frattini underlines that “tens of thousands of Palestinians work in the occupied Territories, therefore this initiative could have an impact on the local economy which gives work to the Palestinians”. According to the Minister, what we should do is “continue to increase our efforts for peace”. (ANSAmed).