Jerusalem Post ordered to stop claiming Amazon supports Israel

IN an unusual development, Amazon.com the worldwide Internet book marketing company, has confirmed that it is annoyed that website of the Jerusalem Post -- a Conrad Black newspaper -- claimed in advertising that the company supported Israel in the current conflict in the Middle East.

The announcement had caused many Amazon customers to withdraw support from the company.

Typical of the letters received by the company was one reading: "I was intending to submit more auctions on Amazon but I do not want my business to go to support Israel."

In a swift response to this and other complaints, the company has placed the blame on its Associates Program:

The web site, www.jpost.com, was just one of over 800,000 members of the Amazon.com Associates Program. Associates post links to Amazon.com on their sites in exchange for a small percentage of the sales that result when their visitors follow these special links to place an order with us.

Amazon.com does not endorse the point of view of any of our Associates. Nor would we consider ourselves their sponsors. Our Associates include web sites representing all sides of nearly every important political and social issue.

However, we did find that the Jerusalem Post was describing our relationship in a way that could cause confusion. As a result, we requested that they update their messaging to more accurately reflect the nature of their membership in the Associates Program. Unfortunately, they have chosen not to comply with these terms and we had no choice but to close down their account.

An open letter to Amazon.com