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Ikea to Open Israel Store: The Swedish home furnishing supplier Ikea, which has been criticized by Jewish groups, said it plans to open a store in Israel. Ikea had come under fire for its founder’s fascist associations in the 1940s and allegations that it went along with an Arab boycott of the Jewish state. Company spokesman Staffan Jeppsson said in Copenhagen that the Dutch-based Inter Ikea Systems, a franchising subsidiary of Ikea, will open the store in Israel. Jeppsson’s comments on the company’s plans confirmed a statement last week from the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.