Many child survivors of Israel’s attack now have lifelong injuries.Īn independent UN Human Rights Council inquiry found extensive evidence of war crimes during the assault that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, likely ordered at the highest level of the Israeli government.Īlareer’s brother Muhammad, known as Hamada, was killed during the Israeli attack on the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shujaiya, a devastating assault that destroyed the homes of thousands of families and killed dozens of people. In the summer of 2014 the Israeli army killed 551 Palestinian children during its assault on Gaza. “The model boy used to promote this costume is probably the age of my niece, whose father Israeli soldiers murdered in Gaza in 2014 when they destroyed our family home.” “When I first saw the Israeli soldier costume for kids I thought it was a joke,” Gaza writer and editor Refaat Alareer told The Electronic Intifada. The jacket includes the Hebrew abbreviation for “Israel Defense Forces.” An Internet search shows that it is sold by other online retailers as well. The costume, seen above, includes a dark green uniform and red beret. The Halloween outfit is particularly distasteful at a time when human rights groups are strongly condemning Israel’s policy of extrajudicially executing Palestinians forced to live under its decades-long military occupation. Walmart, one of the world’s largest retailers, has sparked outrage by selling an “ Israeli Soldier Costume for Kids.” Robert Mackey has more details at The New York Times’ “Open Source” blog. The giant retailer has not responded to a request for comment.Įarlier, a host of groups and social media users, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the US Palestinian Community Network jointly called on Walmart and other retailers to stop selling the two items. The Halloween costumes are no longer available on the company’s website. On Tuesday evening, Walmart withdrew from sale two products that have generated widespread outrage and disgust: the Israeli soldier costume for children and the grotesquely racist “Sheikh Fagin Nose.” Walmart’s Israeli soldier’s costume for children shows insensitivity to victims and survivors of war crimes.
Ali Abunimah Rights and Accountability 27 October 2015
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