Embarrassed by the active presence and a demonstration encouraging the boycott of a small business in his district, the deputy Amir Khadir attempted to explain himself yesterday by stating there was a “huge misunderstanding” between himself and the shoe dealer Yves Archambeault.
Last Saturday, out of solidarity the Quebec deputy positioned himself in front of the Boutique Le Marcheur on St-Denis St to distribute pamphlets calling for a boycott of Mr. Archambeault’s business under the pretext that a few models of a brand of shoes were Israeli-made.
During an interview for the paper, the owner said he was disgusted to find himself harassed and intimidated in this manner by his own deputy. “It’s a terrible misunderstanding; it’s forbidden, the deputy said on the microphone of Benoi Dutrizac of 98.5 FM. I will go see him to tell him I do not want to be a nuisance. I just want to make a little headway with him to see how we can solve this problem he brought up.”
[…]
“I have bad news for you, Amir Khadir,” replied the host. “It is not by protesting in front of the boutique Le Marcheur of St-Denis St that change will come.”
“It is small gestures everywhere,” replied M. Khadir
The deputy opens the door elsewhere for boycotts of other businesses that may be selling Israeli products. “If you find others, we will have to call upon boycotters to do the same thing. We will not discriminate. We will encourage everyone to make a responsible gesture,” he insisted.
[…]
However, the owner is adamant in stating: the deputy was inciting his clients verbally not to enter his shop. During the demonstration on Saturday, the deputy, accompanied by other protesters, requested that he come out of his boutique to discuss it with them.
According to Mr. Archambeault the context was rather intimidating. “He said, are you the owner? Me, I said no, but his friend next to him said yes, I was.” So Khadir said to me: “Come out on the street, we’ll talk together.” I said no, and he said “Me, I don’t go into your business,” but I did not go and discuss it with him; I knew it would be wasted time.
Read the rest and see the photo at Vlad’s. He also includes a personal account about a woman who attempted to shop at the boycotted store:
My mother just came back from purchasing Israeli-made shoes from the store in downtown Montreal that is being subjected to a boycott because it sells Israeli-made shoes. Twenty people showed up to buy shoes after Eric Duhaime called on Montrealers to show solidarity with the embattled store owner. She, with others, was greeted by about a hundred threatening Arabs with Hezbollah flags shouting anti-Semitic slogans and blocking the street completely. She says that several intimidating Arabs took her picture as she was going inside and one was even filming. One young Arab called her a Jewish sow. The store owner is getting death threats and is seriously depressed. He said that he won’t given to these terrorists’ demands. But how long can he keep it up before going out of business? Montreal in 2010.
