Pro-Palestinian advocates protest at Indigo stores in Toronto
CBC
Protesters gathered outside Indigo stores in Toronto on Wednesday to advocate for a boycott over the CEO's patronage of a foundation they say supports the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
CEO Heather Reisman's ties to the HESEG Foundation, which she co-founded in 2005 with her husband, Gerald Schwartz, has been criticized by pro-Palestinan supporters in the city amid Israel's war in Gaza – including one instance last year, when an Indigo store downtown was vandalized with red paint and posters accusing Reisman of funding genocide.
According to its website, HESEG provides scholarships and support for living expenses to former IDF lone soldiers, who are recruits with no family or support system in Israel.
Pro-Palestinian protesters argue the scholarship is an incentive to join the IDF. Reisman and Schwartz "have used their substantial share of profits from Indigo" to support HESEG, according to a website run by a pro-Palestinian campaign called Indigo Kills Kids.
"Indigo customers are now unknowingly also a part of this whole scheme," said Sara Rasikh, who protested at Indigo's location on Bay and Bloor streets.
CBC Toronto reached out to Indigo but did not hear back by deadline.
Advocates say HESEG is violating Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules by supporting a foreign military and should be stripped of its charitable status — but a prominent Jewish group says it's a "malicious campaign targeting Heather Reisman and Indigo."
The Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation has donated almost $40.5 million to HESEG over the past five years, the CRA online portal shows.
Lori Shapiro, president of The Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation, declined comment, but told CBC Toronto earlier this month that "HESEG in no way provides support for the IDF, operates exclusively for charitable purposes … and is and always has been fully compliant with Canadian laws."
According to the HESEG website, translated from Hebrew, the foundation "was established out of a sense of obligation and gratitude to the thousands of lone soldiers who served in the IDF, most of them young people who left what was dearest to them: parents, family and friends, immigrated to Israel alone and enlisted."
It also says Schwartz and Reisman "see the lone soldiers as the cutting edge of volunteerism and contribution to the State of Israel."
The protests on Wednesday were part of a national day of action planned by Indigo Kills Kids. Last week, Indigo won a temporary court order to block the campaign's original website domain after arguing it was copyright infringement.
"Rather than ending their complicity in a genocide, this company is going to court instead and trying to suppress an important public education campaign," said Jenna Maingot, who attended a protest at an Indigo store in Mississauga.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said Friday that Indigo Kills Kids is an anti-Israel group that has "spread false and defamatory messages about Indigo, an iconic Canadian retailer that has been a beacon of philanthropy for the Jewish community," in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
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