 |
B"H
|
|
"Target stops selling red string bracelets" Saturday September 25, 2004 Target has stopped selling bracelets made popular by pop icon Madonna and other celebrities after a Jewish group said the item commercialized a sacred religious tradition. The International Society for Sephardic Progress (ISFSP), a Florida-based advocacy group for Jews of Spanish descent, protested when Target Corp. began selling a red string bracelet it called "Kabbalah Red String," which is believed to ward off evil. The group noted that the U.S. government had denied the Kabbalah Centre a patent and trademark for "Red String" because of its religious meanings. Target responded with a letter that states that the string had been removed from the stores and its Web site and is no longer advertised or offered for sale. The ISFSP
celebrated the decision. "The Jewish people should not allow
the corporate exploitation of their religion," Shelomo Alfassa,
executive director, said in a written statement. ### |
