Amazon Prime's new logistics policy is boycotted by Israeli Jewish sellers

It is reported that from February 1, sellers who use Amazon Prime but do not ship from Amazon warehouses (Seller Fulfillment Prime Program) must fulfill orders within six days a week. Sellers can choose to ship on Saturday or Sunday to meet this requirement. But the program is an "insurmountable" challenge for Jewish sellers.

The reason is that the Jews have an important festival - the Sabbath , which originally means "rest" and "stop working" in Hebrew. According to the Jewish calendar, Jews must observe the Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, and do not work or do business.

Even if there are Israeli sellers who ship on Saturday or Sunday, logistics companies such as FedEx and UPS will have restrictions on picking up goods on Sunday or even not pick up goods. Some Jewish sellers said that if this continues, they will consider launching the Amazon Prime program.

Foreign media reported that some Jewish sellers have tried to communicate with Amazon to discuss this issue, but to no avail. Amazon said that it had informed sellers of the policy change five months in advance and provided them with alternatives , giving sellers enough time to prepare.

Sources said Amazon has set up a dedicated team to help Jewish sellers adapt to the change, but several sellers reported that their emails seeking help have not been responded to.

To help Jewish sellers, a nonprofit organization StandWithUs wrote a letter to Amazon's chief legal counsel David Zapolsky on February 1 , stating that Jews account for 15% of Amazon sellers.

Given that Amazon allows sellers to turn off the Amazon Prime badge during inclement weather, StandWithUs recommends that Amazon allow Jewish sellers to do the same during the Sabbath.

But Amazon reportedly insists the policy will remain the same and sellers who turn off the Amazon Prime badge each week will lose their membership.

Herman, a Jewish seller who sells jewelry on Amazon, said that Jewish sellers can choose to use Amazon's warehousing or delivery services to avoid the problem of shipping on the Sabbath.

But he also has concerns about this approach. Herman said that using Amazon's logistics services may force the company to reduce the scale of its business because Amazon's logistics services are more expensive in comparison.

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