UK online retailer ‘sorry’ for emailing Israeli customer: ‘Jews f*** us up’
A UK website selling anti-smoking drugs has apologised to an Israeli customer over recent emails
An online retailer in the UK has claimed it was hacked after an Israeli customer received an email which said “Jews f*** us up.”
The retailer, which appears to operate using several websites and names such as Tribestan Worldwide and Quit With Tabex, is led by CEO Daniel Davies.
Hilton Licht, 73, from Tel Aviv, says he bought an anti-smoking drug called Tabex on the website Quit With Tabex! but saw his order refunded through PayPal.
Licht contacted the retailer on Sunday requesting an explanation and was told the company did not ship to Israel.
A second email came in hours later, saying: “Jews have negativity on our businesses. Do you know why? Because Jews rip us off !! Jews f***us up!”
“We don’t ship to Israel because the Jews Rob us! Sorry but that’s a fact! They scam the world. No offence,” read another email sent in at 10pm.
The retailer apologised in a message to Licht the next day. “Over night our email got hacked via WiFi over a business phone,” the email read.
“This has now been resolved. The individual who hacked our account sent inappropriate emails to customers by going over recent emails but this security issue has now been addressed.
“We are a small business and none of our staff would dream of sending such offensive language.
“Sorry about the issue and please accept our apologies. We stand for all human right here at our company.”
Licht posted a screenshot of one of the emails to Facebook, drawing hundreds of comments and shares.
“It went viral. People are reading it and sharing it,” he said.
“I’ve had some replies from people who asked whether he reported this to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. Also if he had been hacked, why did he return the money to me back?
“How can he say that I am lobbying him? It doesn’t make any sense. I gave him the money,” he added.
Licht has been approached by the groups UK Lawyers for Israel and Campaign Against Antisemitism, who discussed taking legal action against the retailer.
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, told Jewish News: “We intend to assist Hilton Licht, as we assisted Mandy Blumenthal when Kuwait Airways refused to sell her ticket.
“We have not yet been able to identify the company or the individuals behind it, but obviously this is something we will want to do.”
Stephen Silverman, director of investigations and enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, added: “This is a brazen case of antisemitic abuse and discrimination.
“We hear that excuse all too often from antisemites who get caught. We are in touch with the recipient of the e-mail and reviewing legal options with our lawyers.”
The retailer has been contacted for comment.
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