Fashion industry Zara has been facing calls for a boycott after the head designer Vanessa Perilman sent a hateful message to Palestinian model Qaher Harhash and defended Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Perilman’s message to Harhash read as, “Maybe if your people were educated, they wouldn't blow up hospitals and schools that Israel helped to pay for in Gaza.”
She added, "Israelis don't teach children to hate, nor throw stones at soldiers as your people do. The people in my industry know the truth about Israel and Palestine and I will never stop defending Israel. People like you just come and go in the end. Maybe if your people were educated then they won't go and blow-up schools and hospitals that Israel helped to pay for in Gaza.”
Perilman’s message went viral on social media and caused an uproar. People called out Zara and a user also shared that she emailed the brand and complained about Perilman’s racist remarks. However, she was surprised by brand’s casual approach towards the issues.
The user wrote, “Vanessa Perliman, a head designer at Zara, DM-ed a young Palestinian model this racist garbage and when she was called out, gave a lukewarm apology before deleting all her social media. I emailed Zara to demand that disciplinary action be taken and this was their dismal response."