Kerala firm suspends uniform supply to Israeli police citing moral grounds

The managing directory of the firm said that the it would fulfil all previous commitments made to the Israeli police force and expressed hopes that peace would be restored very soon.

Thiruvananthapuram: An apparel making firm based out of Kannur in Kerala, which has been in the news for supplying uniforms to the Israeli police since 2015, has decided not to take fresh orders from Israel until peace is restored in the region.

"In light of recent events, bombing of hospital and loss of thousands of innocent lives, we have made a moral decision to not take any further orders to manufacture Israel police uniforms until peace has been restored," Maryan Apparel's managing director Thomas Olickal said in a statement.

Olickal said that the firm would fulfil all previous commitments made to the Israeli police force and expressed hopes that peace would be restored very soon.

Kerala Industries minister and senior CPI(M) leader P Rajeev shared the decision of the apparel firm on social media, adding that the firm would gain international recognition for its moral stand.

DH had earlier reported that despite the political differences in Kerala over Israel's actions in the region, Kerala continues to have a firm business tie-up with the Israeli police force, with the apparel firm supplying uniforms.

The Mumbai-headquartered firm run by a Malayali has its apparel factory at Koothuparamba in Kannur. The firm has been supplying uniforms to various agencies in different countries.

It had been supplying around one lakh uniforms annually to the Israeli police over the last several years and received orders for this year also.

The firm has considerable social relevance too, with 95 percent of its 1,500 odd workforce being women from the locality. Many beedi workers who lost their jobs were provided employment by the firm.