A resident of the town of Neve Tzuf in the Binyamin region complained that an Israeli appliance chain refused to provide promised service – because their service personnel refused to “cross the line” into Samaria.

The customer, who calls himself S., had purchased a washing machine from the Machsanei Chashmal chain. Cognizant of the well-known problem where chain stores often refuse to service customers in liberated areas of Israel, serving only those within the 1948 armistice lines, S. made sure to check the store’s policy in advance, and was told that service wouldn’t be a problem.

And it wasn’t – until he actually needed service. When he called he was told that the company did not service customers in his neighborhood – “because of safety issues, and because of issues of the conscience,” the receptionist told S., adding that if he had a “technical sense,” one of the technicians would guide him over the phone on how to fix the machine.

Unsatisfied with that answer, S. said that he discussed the matter with experts, including the legal department of the division of the Economics Ministry that said that such discrimination is illegal. S. said that he was considering suing the chain unless it retracts its stance.

In response, Machsanei Chashmal said that the chain had a policy of not discriminating against any customer on the basis of geography, and that it had reached out to S. to reassure him that the problem would be fixed. The chain said that it was investigating the incident, to determine whether the conversation between S. and the receptionist was a matter of misunderstanding, or something else.