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Customer complaints prompt Publix to remove calendar that omitted Pearl Harbor - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Complaints prompt Publix to remove calendar that omitted Pearl Harbor

Responding to customers' complaints, Publix has stopped distributing a free 2010 calendar that marked Dec. 7 as the start of the Islamic New Year but excluded the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Joyce Kaufman, whose radio talk show on WFTL-AM 850 is broadcast from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach counties, criticized the supermarket chain on her show Wednesday, saying the company failed to include Pearl Harbor in a calendar that it had widely provided at supermarkets in recent weeks.

Kaufman, a Coconut Creek resident, said omitting the Pearl Harbor anniversary would disappoint World War II veterans. She told the Sun Sentinel she also considers some Muslims -- only those who are "radical and want to destroy Western civilization" -- as enemies of the United States.

She urged listeners to call Publix if the calendar offended them. The supermarket company received several complaints, mostly about the Pearl Harbor anniversary missing from the calendar, Publix officials said.

"We regret that the day of remembrance, Pearl Harbor, is not noted and as a result of customer feedback, we will add Pearl Harbor to next year's calendar," said Kimberly Jaeger, a Publix spokeswoman in Miami.

Since 2005, Publix has provided the free calendar, which has only marked holidays, including Independence Day and Veterans Day, Jaeger said.

The calendar also features holidays celebrated overseas, such as Puerto Rico Commonwealth Constitution Day and Haitian Flag Day.

Still, the calendar always has excluded days of observance and remembrance, including Pearl Harbor, "due to the number of holidays in a calendar year," Jaeger said.

Meanwhile, the date of the Islamic New Year varies each year, she said. In 2010, it "happens to fall on Dec. 7," Jaeger said.

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islam Relations, a Washington-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, charged that the calendar's protesters focused on the exclusion of the Pearl Harbor anniversary to exploit "the natural patriotism" of Americans and to "marginalize Muslims and demonize Islam."

Several Muslims phoned Publix, thanking the company for observing the Islamic New Year, Hooper said.

The calendar, filled with coupons, is no longer available at supermarkets. As of now, Publix doesn't plan to reissue it this year, officials said. The company plans to include in next year's calendar both the Islamic New Year and Pearl Harbor anniversary.

Hey, mistakes happen. I commend Publix for recognizing their fault in this matter and removing these from their stores.

sunnykerr

Oh, and I bet that the fact that it recognized a Muslim holiday wasn't received well either. How much do you want to bet that, if it wasn't the start of the Islamic New Year, the Pearl Harbor omission wouldn't have even registered?

I mean, does the calendar mark down the anniversary of Columbine? Of the Oklahoma bombing? Of the Kennedy assassinations? Of whatever event changed the course of American history?

Callace

if that kind of days of remembrance isnt mentioned, then why should it this time? It seems like the calendar has been sent out with the same holidays from all over the world for a number of years.

If Peal Harbour didnt found a national holiday, then it should of course not be mentioned in a holiday calendar, any more than any other important historic event.

sunnykerr

I didn't even think of the fact that it's a holiday calendar. There are so many different holidays in the usual calendar, it makes sense that non-holidays would not be included.