Newspaper Page Text
Ladies’ underwear
offends the Arabs
by Maurice Sam tie bon
LONDON. (JTA)-Mark. and
Spencer, the Jewish-owned British
department store chain, is in
danger of becoming the target of a
new Moslem holy war following
the discovery that a pattern on
some of its ladies panties was not
just a piece of abstract art but the
Arabic words “there is no God but
Allah..."
The offending garments were
withdrawn from display last
month, but it was too late to halt
the growing wave of indignation
This week, Kuwait called on all
Arab and Moslem embassies here
to “counter this outrageous
desecration of the Moslem faith.”
Arabs would be asked to stop
visiting Britain as a holiday center,
the Kuwaiti religious authorities
announced.
A Kuwaiti newspaper columnist
accused Marks and Spencer of
having “degraded the most
respectable phrase in Islam” by
sticking it on an undergarment.
The Egyptian Gazette in Cairo
recalled Marks and Spencer’s
Zionist affiliations, and attacked
the firm in an editorial entitled
“Scraping the Bottom" and
referring, among other things, to
Hitler, punk rock and the Ku Klux
Klan.
Marks and Spencer pleaded in
vain that they knew nothing about
the offending phrase on the
garments which were designed for
them in Paris. Now, however, they
suspect they may have been
deliberately “set up” as a target for
Moslem fury.
Ironically, the panties were on
sale for months before the holy
text was deciphered. It was
brought to their attention not by
one of their thousands of Arab
customers but by a British scholar
of Arabic. Ironically, too, Marks
and Spencer’s trade mark, which
appears on all their intimate
apparel, is “Saint Michael,” but
this has never caused offense to the
millions of devout Christians who
wear their garments.
The theory that the campaign
against Marks and Spencer is
being deliberately fomented for
political reasons is not far-fetched.
The company has long been
anathema in the Arab world
because of its support for Israel.
Four years ago, its president, J.
Edward Sieff, was shot and
severely wounded by a terrorist
belonging to the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine. This
year, it was in a Marks and
Spencer store that the first Jaffa
orange contaminated with
mercury was found in Britain.
Li.fi <zJ\atLonaC 'dfun.d
(JoxdcaCCu LnoLtn
dantox & <dV[ xi. diaac ^oodfxizndf
on tfit Gccaiion of tfii tEitafrCiidmtnt
of a cd^tcxtatLonal c^fxta and 2Ptay ground
dJunday zotning ay 2, U)7&
cMyakt <cftzguicy cdfotid
SaCCxoom
(2ai.fi 2B>ax: 7-7:30 fx.m. fj^Lnntx 7:30 fx.i
( j2>LitLnyuii(xzd ^uzit <£fizafii
<£tuaxt dizznitat
c^fdoiiox to tfii CPxziidint
of tfii ^Llnited <£tatzi
Sub Station 11
f
OUR BREAD MADE
IJT NEW YORK
Phone 394-7092
OPEN 7 DATS A WEEK!
7285 Roswell Rd„ N.E., SANDY SPRINGS
(Across from North Springs Shopping Center]
1 WHOLE • HALF
1 Ham & Cheese 1.85 1 00
2. Bologna & Cheese 1.70 . .95
3. Ham, Salami & Cheese 1 90 . 1 05
4. Salami, Cheese & Pepperoni 195 . 110
5. Cheese, Turkey & Ham 2.20 . 1.20
6. Roast Beef & Cheese 2 40 . . 1.30
7. Cheese, Pepperoni & Ham 2.10.. 1.15
8 Cheese, Salami & Cappicola 2.15. 1.20
9. Ham, Cheese & Cappicola 2.25 . . 1.25
10. Turkey & Cheese 2.10 . 1.15
11 Tuna Fish & Cheese 2.40 1.30
12. All Cheese 1 75 95
13 Salami, Cheese, Pepperoni & Ham 2.20. 1.20
14 Proscettino & Cheese 2 25 1 25
15. Ham, Cheese & Proscettino 2.35 130
16. Corned Beef & Cheese 2.40 1.30
17. Cappicola & Cheese 2.10. . 1.15
18 Bologna, Ham, Cheese & Cappicola . . 2.30 1.25
19. SUPER SPECIAL
Salami, Bologna, Cheese. Turkey,
Cappicola, Ham & Pepperoni 2.75 . . 1.50
26. Pastrami On Rye L95
21. Ruben On Rye with Corned Beef,
Swiss Cheese, Mustard & Sauerkraut ... 2.15
22. Italian Meatball (in sauce) 2.40.. 1.30
23. Italian Sausage with peppers (in sauce) . 2.65 . . 1.45
Sandwiches include lettuce, tomato, onion, oil, vinegar,
oregano, salt and pepper. Dill pickle by reguest.
Page 11 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE April 2*, 197S