Activists Vow to Continue Public Education on Chapters/Indigo Connection to Genocide in Palestine After Federal Court Orders Temporary Shutdown of Boycott Campaign Website

Indigo argued that the website staying live even one more day is going to harm their trademark and copyright and the federal court temporarily granted a Domain Lock, which effectively instructs telecommunications companies including Telus, Rogers, Bell and Videotron to act within a week to make the site inaccessible for the next two weeks. Despite this gross attempt at silencing criticism, Palestine solidarity groups have vowed to continue their boycott and public education campaign against Indigo, condemning the company’s financial ties to Israel’s military through CEO Heather Reisman’s leadership in the HESEG Foundation, which, through Canadian taxpayer subsidization, supports Israeli military “lone soldiers.”

IndigoKillsKids is a grassroots volunteer-led campaign calling for a boycott of the multi-million dollar Indigo corporation for its participation in the genocide of Palestinians. While the court's ruling is set to temporarily block access to the website, activists assert that this will only intensify their efforts. The social media pages of the campaign remain live at @IndigoKillsKids.

The IndigoKillsKids campaign exposes the unrefuted financial ties between Reisman and Israel’s military occupation of Palestine. According to CRA filings, the foundation handed out at least $4.6 million in scholarships and grants in 2023, $5.5 million in 2022, and $6.5 million in 2021. Reisman and her husband, Gerry Schwartz, have funneled nearly $200 million of tax-subsidized dollars into HESEG over the last twenty years. Since any purchase at Indigo generates income for Reisman and Schwartz, shopping at Indigo indirectly supports Israel’s military activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

IndigoKillsKids is calling on the public to continue to join boycott actions in their communities, despite the website’s temporary closure. A joint day of action is planned for September 25, 2024, where activists will visit more than 40 Indigo locations across the country to share information and continue the call for accountability.

Jewish and Palestinian organizations, along with anti-war activists, including Jews Say No to Genocide, condemned the court’s decision, but reaffirmed their commitment to standing up against corporate censorship and repression of dissent. “This case is about more than just a website. It’s about standing up to corporate silencing of dissent, naming and holding accountable companies that are aiding in the slaughter of Palestinians, and refusing to allow our tax-funded dollars to directly contribute to genocide,” said Gur Tsabar of Jews Say No to Genocide. All charitable donations in Canada are tax exempt.

Indigo's repeated use of the courts and police to silence critics has drawn increasing scrutiny, especially as public pressure grows on Canadian corporations involved in profiting from Israel’s aggression against Palestinians including Scotiabank, which has resulted in thousands of deaths. “This lawsuit is a chilling example of how injunctions allow powerful corporations to silence dissent by using the courts to turn questions of genuine public interest into costly private disputes,” said Irina Ceric, Law Professor at the University of Windsor and an injunctions expert.

“If a multi-million dollar corporation like Indigo can quietly call an emergency injunction hearing on just a few day’s notice to force telecommunications companies in this country to shut down a website publishing basic facts they don’t like about their company, what’s next?” asks Rachel Small, with World BEYOND War. “This is a blatant suppression of political dissent and an attack on free speech, in this case involving a corporation whose profits are funding and contributing to mass murder,” added Small.

Recent media reports have revealed that Indigo CEO Heather Reisman was personally involved in a media-spin and policing offensive after one of Indigo’s Toronto stores was postered with fliers accusing Reisman of funding genocide and splashed with water-soluble red paint. Eleven people were arrested in brutal, no-knock raids, though charges against four of them have already been dropped.

Indigo kills kids is a statement of fact. Yipeng Ge, an Ottawa-based doctor who recently worked in Rafah, Gaza added, “Children in Gaza are not returning to regular schooling because of Israel's assault on schools and civilian life, which has continued almost daily for nearly a year now. Over 16,000 children have been killed by Israel in Gaza in these past 11 and a half months. The United Nations has added Israel to a global list of perpetrators who have committed violations and harms against children. All children deserve protection, including Palestinian children who are being massacred by Israel with funding and material support from groups like Indigo through ties to the HESEG Foundation.”

The donations made to HESEG through Reisman and Schwartz’s Charitable Foundation are subsidized by Canadian taxpayers. In response to the injunction, Corey Balsam, National Coordinator of Independent Jewish Voices, called on the federal government to act. “Just last month, the Canada Revenue Agency revoked the charitable status of the Ne’eman Foundation for supporting Israeli lone soldier projects. By the same standard, the CRA should take swift action against the HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers, which funds a foreign military.”

Despite the decision today, activists vowed to continue their work. “The court’s decision will not silence the thousands across the country who have risen up to organize a boycott of Indigo” added Small. Human rights organizations advocating for an end to the ongoing violence against Palestinians have made it clear: the fight for justice will continue.