After Queerty‘s report on the stupid business decision to get into bed with JONAH — by offering JONAH a coupon code it could use to get a cut of sales from any customers it sent to the kosher food delivery site — Kosher.com is cutting off the ex-gay Jewish group.
Sure, more than one Kosher.com employee defended the company’s decision to do business with JONAH, saying that “as a private organization Kosher.com reserves all rights to affiliate with any and all third parties without incorporating said parties views.” But now New York-based Kosher.com has realized that merely by doing business with an organization that tells Jewish gays they must become straight or live a life of sin, they are indeed affirming JONAH’s mission.
The company’s sales director Michael Wosk writes in a statement:
Firstly we wish to apologize if any action taken by any member of our company offended anyone. Our affiliate program has pretty much been an automated system whereby any site can go and join the program and put our banners in their email blasts going to their members. In the past it was not something that we had monitored but considering the current reaction regarding jonahweb.org’s decision to send their members our affiliate offerings, we have decided to discontinue that affiliation and our management will review our affiliate programs guidelines going forward. Our agenda is simply to be a good company selling a good product and to be considerate of people’s feelings and sensitivities.
And that, friends, is the proper way to handle a scandal where your company is accused of helping perpetuate hatred and demonetization. Now how about we start passing around the tray of latkes?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Cam
The power of P.R., they were bitchily defending their right to affiliate with anybody and just a little publicity suddenly has them rethinking. The fact that as a whole the Jewish Community, outside of the Orthodox wacko’s is massively pro-gay according to polls probably didn’t hurt. Nice job Queerty.
Luke
Good for them. Of course the last guy was just doing his job, and it is his job to defend the company’s policies. They would have been better off elevating the issue up the chain of command a whole lot sooner rather than later!
Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill
This article suggests that there is something WRONG with being homosexual. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a heterosexual rabbi, I take offense.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill:I applaud and thank any member of the clergy who makes a statement such as yours……..
One thing that makes my blood boil like few other things is when a Jew spews hatred upon any other group. Here is a people who have been subjected to the absolute worst behaviours that humanity can sink down to and you have members of that group spewing hatred upon another group. A older friend of mine Ray was very active in NYC in the 1980’s when the Gay rights bill was up for debate. He tells stories that those who were most virulant in their casting hatred upon the Gays and protesting loudest were the orthodox Jews who actually applauded anytime there was a mention of AIDS. Which at that time was cutting a path of death and destruction among our community with abandon. Ray said after one orthodox Rabbi stood at the podium for the alloted time and basically said that Gays did not deserve to live he approached the Rabbi and said “Hitler would be so very proud of those words”. Everyone but the orthodox Jews in the room stood up and gave Ray an ovation………..
Michael
This petition by Truth Wins Out had a lot to do with JONAH being dropped by Kosher.com: http://is.gd/jjNIYj Let’s give credit where credit is due; they sure did their part by crediting Queerty for the story (http://is.gd/9r4Clw) …
john s
@Michael: Uhm Truth Wins Out jumped on the bandwagon – it was all queerty