Amazon Canada is sparking ire after a listing was posted on the site for a vacuum that can clean "Jewish."
The ad on Amazon for the "lightweight stick" vacuum cleaner includes photos showing different types of garbage the vacuum is capable of cleaning, including hair, dust, and "Jewish."
"We sincerely hope this is an innocent mistake and not deliberate antisemitism."
StopAntisemitism
Watchdog group StopAntisemitism was the first to draw attention to the ad via Twitter, expressing hope that the statement was a typo.
"We sincerely hope this is an innocent mistake and not deliberate antisemitism," the group said on Sunday.
Grotesque - @amazonca listing for a vacuum ad photo shows different types of garbage the vacuum is capable of cleaning, including hair, dust, and "Jewish".We sincerely hope this is an innocent mistake and not deliberate antisemitism @AmazonHelp pic.twitter.com/VveeVJ7WEc
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) January 8, 2023
Has Amazon been accused of antisemitism before?
Back in November, Jewish and human rights NGOs issued requests to Amazon to remove an antisemitic film shared by basketballer Kyrie Irving and the books the documentary was based on.
"We wish to express our grave concern that the sickening antisemitic documentary and book Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America not only remains for purchase or rent on your platform, but alarmingly, is currently also one of your best-selling items," the International Legal Forum wrote in a letter to Amazon's Jeff Bezos at the time. "The ILF calls for the immediate removal of this film and book from distribution."
"Amazon needs to be accountable and remove the film and book immediately," wrote Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) in a call to action posted on Instagram, in which it called on supporters to share the post to pressure the book and delivery giant.
Even after weeks of pressure, the company’s CEO Andy Jassy, who is Jewish, said in December that Amazon had no plans to remove or add a disclaimer to Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.
“As a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a lot of different viewpoints, we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable – and they differ from our particular viewpoints,” Jassy told the audience at the New York Times DealBook Summit.
Michael Starr contributed to this report.