Jewellery company Lily & Roo urges its customers to call for a ceasefire
In an email sent out to its database, the company encourages the signing of an Amnesty International petition
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
Online jewellery brand Lily & Roo has joined the calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, asking its customers to sign an Amnesty International petition. In an email sent this morning with the subject line ***AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE*** it says that this is a “step in the right direction towards peace”.
The email says: “Most of our customers are women and many of them are mothers, buying a special piece to represent their child and to keep them close. So how can we stay silent when thousands of women, children and innocent people are still being killed in Gaza? Today, we need to address something far more important than Christmas gifts.
“All children in the state of Palestine and Israel deserve peace and hope for a better future. We understand this is a divisive issue but we ask you to speak up and let your voice be heard. It takes under 30 seconds to sign the above petition for a ceasefire – but it could make an enormous difference to the innocent men, women and children who have been caught up in this horrific situation.”
More than 36,000 people have signed the petition to “demand an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and Israel – now”.
One Jewish News reader wrote to the company expressing surprise at it actions, saying “I don’t think it is the business of a company such as yours to make an overtly political call, particularly one that is so divisive and nuanced.” He goes on to explain what a ceasefire would mean. “Hamas – the organization that instigated the current war through the murder, rape and torture of over 1200 Israelis wants a ceasefire so that it can rearm and continue its autocratic rule over the people in Gaza. Any decent person cannot be failed to be affected by the human misery generated by Hamas’s actions, not only upon Israelis but also upon Palestinians among whom Hamas hides and uses as human shields.
“The Israeli government and army has been forced to react following the atrocities of 7 October. How would you feel if a proportionately similar number of people (9.000 in one day) were brutally murdered in one day? My 25-year-old nephew who lives in Israel was charged with the clear up of the dead following the massacres of 7/10 and he told me of civilians beheaded and children literally shot to pieces. This is not a horror story – it is reality.
“Your call to your customers to support a ceasefire plays into the hands of those killers who undertook these atrocities. Hamas must be removed by any means so that it can no longer be a threat to Israel and also allow Palestinians in Gaza to live free of its autocratic rule. It may also be of interest to you that the organization proudly calls for the murder of LGBTQ people and has been guilty of killing those gay people it finds (this is proudly stated and recorded by the organisation).
“I therefore call upon your to remove your ill-considered email. If you wish to support the innocents caught in this tragedy why not supply a link to both Medical Aid for Palestinians and Magen David Adom (Israel’s ambulance service)?”
Jewish News has contacted Lily & Roo for comment.
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