Orthodox Jews Rip Into Amazon Over New Prime Regulations
Michael Cantrell
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Orthodox Jews are none too happy with a new Amazon policy they state will end up shutting them out of a very coveted program that allows sellers of products on the site to ship their goods directly from non-Amazon warehouses as “Prime” products.
The changes were announced back in August of 2020 and kicked into effect on Feb. 1 and require “Seller Fulfilled Prime” participants to ship their Prime packages for two-day delivery six days of the week.
Jews who observe the Sabbath cannot ship products out on Saturday, which means that existing shipment services can’t give a guaranteed two-day shipping for packages that get picked up on Sunday.
The move by Amazon does not violate the law, but it has prompted outrage among the large Orthodox Jewish community of Seller Fulfilled Prime sellers, who see the new requirement as an unnecessary imposition on their ability to compete.
According to a 2019 BuzzFeedNews article, Orthodox Jews make up around 15 percent of Amazon’s small sellers, though a smaller percentage of them participate in the Seller Fulfilled Prime program.
StandWithUs, a non-profit Israel and anti-Semitism educational organization, sent a letter to Amazon asking it to allow Sabbath-observant sellers to toggle off their “Prime” badge before the Sabbath and toggle it back on after. Seller Fulfilled Prime participants can already temporarily turn off the Prime badge for inclement weather. Amazon warned that using the toggle on a weekly basis would trigger suspension from the Seller Fulfilled Prime program.
Herman, an Orthodox Jewish jewelry seller who runs a family business with his brother, said he would likely have to downsize the business if they could no longer participate in Seller Fulfilled Prime. “We understand Amazon has to protect their Prime brand, and we work very hard” to meet their requirements, he said. “We are just looking for a little understanding on something that is so important for us and so pointless for them to refuse.” Herman asked to be identified only by his first name.
Amazon says it will be standing by the changes made to the program and insists that businesses were given plenty of time to find ways to adjust to them in their business practices.
“As we move toward One Day Delivery, we have made changes to Seller Fulfilled Prime to provide customers with fast, consistent delivery, regardless of the fulfillment method,” a spokesman for the company stated. “We informed sellers of this change in August 2020 to provide them with more than five months to determine if and how they should adjust their business. We also set up a dedicated support team to guide them through these adjustments and help them succeed.”
If Amazon did this to Muslims the response by the company would be vastly different, don’t you agree?
We all know that the left, which runs a company like Amazon doesn’t mind offending Jews or Christians, so it’s no surprise that they don’t mind hurting businesses run by Orthodox Jews.
The double standard is appalling.
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