Kmart pulls ‘Hamas’ Christmas product off shelves after receiving backlash
Topics: News, World News, Australia
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images /Kmart
Topics: News, World News, Australia
Kmart has withdrawn a product from sale after concerns were raised about its messaging.
The product was a bag intended to contain a Christmas ham, but it didn't exactly go down well.
It was decorated with the words 'Merry Ham-mas', which could be taken as a pun on the name 'Hamas'.
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Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the UK and US, is responsible for the attack on Israel on 7 October which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,300 Israelis and more than 200 being taken hostage.
Israel has responded by launching sustained airstrikes targeting the densely populated Gaza Strip, as well as mounting a ground offensive.
The airstrikes have so far resulted in the deaths of more than 10,000 Palestinian civilians including children according to Gaza's Ministry of Health, while tens of thousands of people have been displaced.
The bag was spotted by the Australian Jewish Association, who posted about it on X, calling it a 'Kmart stuff-up'.
The group wrote: "Although this is potentially funny (the AJA committee has tossed around some non-PC jokes) it's really not a good look.
"We suspect some product manager may cause the company some embarrassment.
"So we've politely written to Wesfarmers corporate suggesting the product be recalled."
The product has since been recalled in Australia.
Australian Jewish Association president Dr David Adler told The West Australian: “It’s not normal times, there are people that will distort things and will harass the Jewish community.
“Of course, there are bigger issues to be addressed, dealing with the actual terrorism is important, but one of the other things we are dealing with is propaganda.
“I want to give credit to Kmart management as they acted very quickly.”
A spokesperson for Kmart has apologised for the product, which would be used to store Christmas ham.
They said: “We got it wrong on this occasion, and we apologise unreservedly.
“When designing this product we clearly didn’t think through all the implications and the product has been removed from sale.”
The attack on Israel on 7 October precipitated a catastrophic escalation in the decades-long conflict.
In addition to the violence in and around the Gaza Strip this has also included a spike in settler attacks against Palestinians living in the West Bank, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas.
President Joe Biden has expressed the US' unreserved support for its historic ally Israel.
Reuters has reported that this has even included some Republicans calling for aid to be diverted from Ukraine to Israel, a measure which has been opposed by Democrats.
UNILAD has reached out to Kmart for comment.