Author Topic: Huffington Post Falsely Accuses Hobby Lobby of Boycotting Jewish Holidays  (Read 4443 times)

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Offline ABX

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The headline is shocking as is the lead in to apparently damning story at the Huffington Post.

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Hobby Lobby Boycotts Jewish Hanukkah And Passover

Hanukkah comes early this year. But it apparently never comes to Hobby Lobby.

The national craft store owned by conservative billionaire Steve Green seemingly refuses to carry merchandise related to Hanukkah because of Green’s “Christian values,” and some Jews are taking offense....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/02/hobby-lobby-jewish-boycott-steve-green_n_4032295.html

Paragraph after paragraph are filled with comments by customers how outraged they are.... oh wait, these aren't customers but bloggers commenting on what they were told Hobby Lobby was doing....

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“I will never set foot in a Hobby Lobby. Ever.” wrote Ken Berwitz, the New Jersey blogger who brought the Hobby Lobby Hanukkah flap to light in a Friday (Sept. 27) blog post.

Berwitz’s outrage has spread to other bloggers...


So where did this story start? Not with any official comment by Hobby Lobby, not with a statement by a leader at Hobby Lobby. No, the blogger claims one 'store associate' made the following comment:

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According to Berwitz, one of the women asked about bar mitzvah cards, and a Hobby Lobby salesperson replied: “We don’t cater to you people.”

That's it.  But what has Hobby Lobby itself said? Well, it appears the entire foundation for this article is a lie.

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“Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is currently working with our buyers over our merchandise selection. Our customers have brought this to our attention and we are currently evaluating our Holiday items and what we will carry in the future.”

So not only are they not boycotting Jewish Holidays, but are working with suppliers to stock the merchandise for the Holiday season.  As for Hobby Lobby's opinion regarding the employee's statement.

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Alleged comments made by employees are currently being investigated and will be addressed accordingly. These comments are in no way indicative of Hobby Lobby culture, the owners and the operators.

So Hobby Lobby not only is working on stocking the supplies the Huffington Post and the "Hopelessly Partisan" blog claim they are not, they reject the employee comment that was made. It is obvious there is no boycott by Hobby Lobby.

But why would the Huffington Post make up such a story?  The bias shines right through in the Huffington Post article.

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Green owns more than 550 Hobby Lobby stores nationwide, all of which are closed on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. He is also known for his lawsuit against President Obama’s health care law, which he says tramples on his religious liberty by forcing him to insure employees for medical services he objects to on religious grounds. Many legal experts agree the case has a good chance of landing at the Supreme Court.

Huffington Post doesn't even try to hide their reasoning behind this hit piece. We can only hope people will read past the dramatics to the real story.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2013, 04:29:26 pm by AbaraXas »

Offline Bigun

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The commies will stop at nothing to take down anyone who does not toe their line!
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I am convinced that democrats have some kind of disease that enters through the brain and eventually sears the soul.

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Offline happyg

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If there is a market for Jewish items, I'm sure Hobby Lobby will capitalize on it, if they haven't already. Most of their items can be used for any religion or no religion. This is much ado about nothing.

Offline EC

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“I will never set foot in a Hobby Lobby. Ever.” wrote Ken Berwitz, the New Jersey blogger who brought the Hobby Lobby Hanukkah flap to light in a Friday (Sept. 27) blog post.

Anyone else notice that?
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Offline Lipstick on a Hillary

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I am convinced that democrats have some kind of disease that enters through the brain and eventually sears the soul.

Well said. 

Offline ABX

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I am convinced that democrats have some kind of disease that enters through the brain and eventually sears the soul.

The interesting thing is I found the blogger who first made the accusation and he seems to be pretty right wing. Of course, it was The Huffington Post running wild with it falsely accusing HL of an actual 'boycott' of the holiday. The blogger seems to be capitalizing on his new fame and has made several posts about this including complaints HL hasn't contacted him directly (apparently they did try to contact him to his website's registration info but that didn't get him directly.)

Offline happyg

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Re: Huffington Post Falsely Accuses Hobby Lobby of Boycotting Jewish Holidays
« Reply #10 on: October 04, 2013, 01:17:43 am »
In all the years Hobby Lobby has been open, I doubt they had any calls for Jewish things. All the person has to do is ask, and the company will take it from there. Places like HL listen to customers, and aim to please everyone. Daily Kos started the ball rolling on this, so I doubt most of what we read is accurate.

Offline ABX

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Re: Huffington Post Falsely Accuses Hobby Lobby of Boycotting Jewish Holidays
« Reply #11 on: October 04, 2013, 01:20:05 am »
In all the years Hobby Lobby has been open, I doubt they had any calls for Jewish things. All the person has to do is ask, and the company will take it from there. Places like HL listen to customers, and aim to please everyone. Daily Kos started the ball rolling on this, so I doubt most of what we read is accurate.

I really think the decision was down to customer demand, not any sort of boycott as Huff implies. I remember never seeing any items for Jewish holidays in any stores for most of my life... HL, Wal Mart, Michaels, whatever. I finally found a few things at Target a few years ago but that's it. It isn't against the Jewish people, it is just a matter of a story trying to determine what will sell and what won't. You are right, all they need is for customers to ask.

Offline ABX

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Re: Huffington Post Falsely Accuses Hobby Lobby of Boycotting Jewish Holidays
« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2013, 01:21:31 am »
Oh wow.. .the Blogger even has links to FR on his site. With his articles and links to FR, I wonder if he is a FReeper.

That would send Huffington Post and KOS for a loop.

http://partisan.blogs.hopelesslypartisan.com/


Offline happyg

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Re: Huffington Post Falsely Accuses Hobby Lobby of Boycotting Jewish Holidays
« Reply #13 on: October 04, 2013, 01:39:38 am »
I just did a search on Jewish shops and stores, and got thousands of hits. The shops catered to Jewish religious items, and nothing else. I'm certainly not complaining, but it works both ways.

Offline ABX

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Re: Huffington Post Falsely Accuses Hobby Lobby of Boycotting Jewish Holidays
« Reply #14 on: October 04, 2013, 01:54:07 am »
It does appear the blogger who started this is a low volume freeper.

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:groundedinreality/index?tab=articles

That should make the KOS and Huff kids heads explode. It also reduces the initial report being politically motivated. Huff and KOS are the ones who made it political, this guy just didn't like the product line.