What was supposed to be a warm, intimate celebration of Hanukkah quickly spiraled into a chilling reminder of how emboldened antisemitism has become—even inside America’s upscale department stores.
New York City resident Arielle Harris was celebrating the first night of Hanukkah when she opened a gift from her boyfriend, Andrew Jones—a cozy pair of holiday pajamas purchased from Bloomingdale’s, decorated with Stars of David and Menorahs. But tucked neatly inside the package wasn’t just festive cheer.
It was a handwritten political message.
Placed deliberately on top of the receipt, written on a Bloomingdale’s-branded card, were two words that instantly shattered the moment: “Free Palestine.”
“At first I was like, ‘ha, what, ‘Free Palestine’?’” Harris told The Post, still processing what she had found.
Jones, who had never opened the package before gifting it, said his “heart dropped” when he realized what had happened. The couple immediately panicked, calling family members for advice—especially given the global spike in antisemitic violence and their heightened fear following the antisemitic Bondi Beach massacre in Australia.
“Our nice moment, private celebration was totally turned upside down by this note,” Jones said.
Harris took to TikTok to share the experience, posting a video that quickly racked up nearly 110,000 views by Tuesday evening. In it, she didn’t mince words.
“This never should have happened, and Bloomingdale’s needs to answer for their employees,” she said.
She later described the intrusion as deeply unsettling, saying the gift felt “violating,” adding it was as if “a cat peed on it.” A sacred Jewish holiday, hijacked by anonymous political activism.
Predictably, some online commenters rushed to dismiss the incident altogether. Jones fired back on X.
“Craziest part is how many commenters think I faked this,” he wrote. “Typical denials of antisemitism.”
Behind the scenes, Bloomingdale’s went into damage-control mode. Jones told The Post the couple spoke with “a pretty senior executive” at the company, who offered “a heartfelt apology” and issued a full refund. According to Harris, the retailer also said the fulfillment center involved is now opening every package to ensure no other messages slipped through.
“They had a substantial response and are taking action to figure out who did this and how it slipped through the cracks,” Harris said.
Bloomingdale’s later confirmed the incident in a statement, calling the act “unauthorized and unacceptable.”
“Antisemitism, or discrimination in any form, has absolutely no place in our business,” a spokesperson said. “Please know we are treating this with the utmost seriousness.”
The controversy drew condemnation from prominent Jewish leaders as well. Deborah Lipstadt, former U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, summed up the outrage bluntly on X:
“A ‘free Palestine’ note in a Bloomingdale’s Chanukah gift. No limits. No shame.”
For Harris and Jones, the flood of public support has helped them move forward—but the damage is done.
“Given everything that’s happened, everyone we know is being positive, it’s giving us hope,” Harris said. “It’s a sad thing and a sad reality, but it’s not going to stop us from living our life and enjoying this Jewish holiday.”
As for Bloomingdale’s? The couple says they’re still undecided about whether they’ll ever shop there again.
