Major Clothing Retailer Apologizes For Religiously Offensive Children's Shirt
The Spainish clothing retailer Zara recently pulled a children's t-shirt that some argued resembled the uniforms work by Auschwitz concentration camp prisoners during World War II.
The white and blue striped kids' shirt features a yellow, six-point star on the breast that many argue represents a similar six-point star worn by prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Although the retail giant has pulled the clothing piece and apologized, it has also said that the star was meant to resemble the badge worn by a sheriff in the Old West.
"We honestly apologize, it was inspired by the sheriff's stars from the Classic Western films and is no longer in our stores," the clothing company tweeted on Wednesday.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz described the shirt as "hauntingly reminiscent of a darker era," adding "The shirt bears a large six-pointed star on the upper-left section, in the exact place where Nazis forced Jews to wear the Star of David."
The shirt had previously been sold online and shipped internationally to various countries, including Israel.
This is not the first time Zara has stirred controversy. Earlier this year, the clothing chain pulled a shirt that read "White is the new black," and it also received criticism last year for selling a purse that had what appeared to be printed swastika images.
NPR's Lauren Frayer reported that it is important to note that the gold star found of the Zara children's shirt was imprinted with the word "Sheriff." Additionally, the stripes on the shirt were horizontal, while the uniforms distributed to Auschwitz victims often had vertical blue stripes on a white background.
