TORONTO (July 12, 2017) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center(FSWC) has reached out to government officials abouta letter that was released by the LCBO requiring sacramentalwine vendors to discontinue the importation of winesfrom the West Bank labelled as“Product of Israel.”

FSWC is contestingthis apparent policy change with LCBO and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA),which is seemingly initiating this action.

"We have alreadycontacted the CFIA directly to register our protest as well as the LCBO. Weconsider any action which promotes the so-called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel as antisemitic. This would be out of step withthe existing government policy which has vigorously condemned the BDScampaign," said Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of Friends of SimonWiesenthal Center.    

FSWC will continue investigatingthis issue and will inform the public of any updates.

To arrange an interview with Avi Benlolo, please contact:

‍Atara Cadesky 
Communications Associate 
416.864.9735 x 30 
acadesky@fswc.ca

Avital Borisovsky 
Communications Associate   
416.864.9735 x 29 
aborisovsky@fswc.ca

Follow us on Twitter at @CanadianFSWC for latest news and organization updates.

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a top Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It directly impacts over 100,000 people each year and 500,000+ peripherally. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca. 

Canadian Headquarters: Toronto  Branches: Los Angeles • New York • Chicago • Paris • Buenos Aires • Israel

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