Copenhagen, Denmark – Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has apologized for a catalog aimed at Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community that contains no images of women.
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Ikea says the booklet was produced by its Israeli branch, not by the Swedish group itself.
IKEA spokeswoman Josefin Thorell says the catalog “is not something that has gone through us,” adding “we have been very clear that this is not what the Ikea brand stands for.”
Thorell told Swedish news agency TT late Friday that its Israeli franchise “had tried to reach a consumer group” and made “an error.”
Thorell was not immediately available for comment on Saturday, and it was not clear how many catalogs had been printed.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community makes up make up about 11 percent of Israel’s population.
Ju1st make sure your cabinets are bolted to the wall
Curious about the catalogs in Saudi Arabia.
Biiiiiig stinking deal?!!??!?
What’s the big deal here? The ones offended were those who live to be offended, not the normal people.
As far as I have read, the original catalog was still distributed to the non-Ultra-orthodox sectors, so why does anyone care or involve themselves in what a secluded sect wants for itself? The apology has as much meaning as stores apologizing for selling kosher to the kosher consumer.
I’m not getting it, what did they do wrong, not having a woman in one ad?
I don’t understand the problem. Is IKEA selling furniture, or something else? If the former, there really should be no problem having many different catalogs targeted at different sub-markets. Why not an Israeli-version printed in Russian or Arabic? If the latter, then we should disregard the complaints of those who believe that innuendo is needed to sell a couch or bed!
Why can’t they make catalos geared toward potential customers? What’s to apologize for?
It makes no sense to me.
I don’t understand. Twelve years of Bais Yaakov education I’m told that the home is a woman’s domain. I see that isn’t really true if tzniusdik women can’t even be pictured there!