A lot of eyebrows were raised and angry criticisms made after Walmart decided to pull out the Israeli Defence Forces soldier's costume from its Halloween sale racks while retaining the devil's outfit.
The Israel Project, a pro-Israel organisation based in Washington, D.C., immediately condemned Wallmart's decision. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the group even put up a social media campaign urging Walmart to reconsider bringing back the soldier costume, which retailed for around $27.44.
"Israeli soldiers are heroes. They fight every day to protect innocents from terror. But Walmart removed an Israeli army costume from their website. Why? They surrendered to a vicious hate campaign—a campaign to demonise Israel. If you support Israel, you must take action now," the Israel Project wrote on its Facebook page.
Omri Ceren, Israel Project's managing director, also blasted Walmart for caving in easily to the demands made by the anti-Israel group, WND reported. Ceren said Walmart actually has a lot of other items that can be considered as more offensive than the Israeli Defence Forces costume.
"Palestinian and Arab terrorists have spent the last month stabbing Israelis and Americans in the streets," Ceren said. "Walmart is choosing to feature terrorist costumes but deny Americans the ability to side with Israel. It's disgraceful."
When sought for comment regarding the matter, Walmart failed to give any.
On the other hand, Samer Khalaf, the committee president for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, welcomed Wallmart's action. "The costumes are very problematic, and offensive to many people. The Israeli forces are responsible for the continued death and occupation of the Palestinian people. Such a symbol of fear, violence and a long history of dispossession should not be used for entertainment purposes," she said in a statement, according to WND.