Safeway Stores, Inc., reiterating its claim of innocence of 449 alleged violations of the U.S. law against boycotting Israel, said Wednesday that it has consistently purchased Israeli products.
In addition, the Safeway statement said that company officers including chairman and chief executive Peter Magowan “have demonstrated strong personal commitment to the State of Israel and have received many awards from American Jewish organizations.”
The Northern California Jewish Bulletin reported August 7 that Magowan “has a personal track record of support for the Jewish State,” including the hosting of luncheons for visiting Israeli dignitaries and visiting Israel twice with groups of businesspeople.
In the statement, Magowan noted that Safeway has “bought and sold millions of dollars worth of Israeli products.” Safeway general counsel Bernat Rosner added that the company “has a long history of resisting all demands to participate in boycotts wherever they take place and regardless of the intensity of pressure.”
According to Magowan, the boycott charges by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance involve 10 supermarkets in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that Safeway has never owned, but with which Safeway has had service agreements.
If found guilty by a Commerce Department administrative law judge, Safeway could be fined more than $4 million, or $10,000 per violation. Rosner said “potential fines are ludicrous, and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
