The Spanish clothing chain Zara offered a shirt on its website that was in such shockingly poor taste that some find it hard to believe the company could be so insensitive.
Described as a “striped sheriff t-shirt,” it included a yellow star in the upper left portion of the shirt — eerily similar to the Star of David Jews were forced to wear during World War Two.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said the shirt “is hauntingly reminiscent of the striped shirts Holocaust survivors donned in Nazi concentration camps.”
And, to make matters worse, this is not the first time the company has found itself in waters that could be described as anti-Semitic.
According to The Times of Israel, Zara faced a similar controversy in 2007 when it offered purses which were decorated with Nazi swastikas.
Zara, which has 5,500 stores worldwide, pulled the shirt and issued an apology, Haaretz reported.
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“The item in question has now been removed from all Zara stores and Zara.com,” said a spokesperson representing Zara’s parent company Inditex. “The garment was inspired by the classic Western films, but we now recognise that the design could be seen as insensitive and apologize sincerely for any offence caused to our customers.”
It didn’t take long for word to get out on social media, with many seeing the connection to the Holocaust:
The new #ZARA Sheriff T-Shirt is somewhat #Holocaust ish in its design don’t you agree? http://t.co/PY9RymfTc4 pic.twitter.com/EdQMghaXO8
— Shulman (@shulman_k) August 27, 2014
My grandfather wore a short just like this when he was a child, but @Zara didn’t make it. http://t.co/9KHVpJwksq pic.twitter.com/7VhwsjRPzN — Jeff Halevy (@jeffhalevy) August 28, 2014
In worst idea ever, Zara sells shirt similar to that of Nazi camp inmates. On Israeli site too http://t.co/Kqs3PfXq31 pic.twitter.com/PRuEfn6Wsr — Oren Kessler (@OrenKessler) August 27, 2014
@OrenKessler @NiceBastard Everything is a commodity. Even atrocity. What next? — Hinged (@Hinged3223) August 27, 2014
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