Gym-goers are being urged to boycott popular chain PureGym over comments made by the company’s CEO on Question Time.
Humphrey Cobbold appeared on the BBC programme and said he was ‘deeply concerned’ about Israel’s bombardment in Gaza, which has killed 34,000 people.
He said: ‘There should be an insistence on Israel providing safe harbour and doing everything that can be done and more than they’ve done in the past in order to look after the citizens of Gaza, who are not to blame.’
Mr Cobbold added the UK ‘should not forget the origin and trigger’ of Israel’s attack, after Hamas killed more than 1,400 and took 252 hostage on October 7.
Question Time host Fiona Bruce asked him whether the UK Government should halt arms sales after US president Joe Biden said the US will not supply offensive weapons for an assault on Raffah.
Mr Cobbold replied: ‘They’ve stopped some big bombs which sounds like a very sensible thing to stop doing.
‘I certainly think any weapons that are required for defence and for the Iron Dome, I see no reason why we wouldn’t do that.
‘We saw horrendous attacks on Israel from Iran that were dealt with partly by British and American forces as well as we saw and I think defensive weapons should still be allowed to go through.
‘As I stand at the moment, I think we should support in general the Israeli government in being able to defend themselves. Remember Hamas is a prescribed terrorist organisation that has insisted on deciding to eradicate Jews and eradicate Israel and we’ve got to remember that when we deal with this.
‘And that’s absolutely not the fault of the Palestinian people in general. They deserve more protection than they’re getting I agree with that but we must remember those facts.’
Many are now calling for PureGym to be boycotted, with some social media users claiming they have cancelled their memberships.
Hamza Tzortzis said: ‘I have cancelled my PureGym membership because their CEO is pro-genocide’.
‘To all my followers: Please cancel your membership and join another gym.’
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Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
