Chicago TV Station Wishes Jews a Happy Yom Kippur with Nazi Emblem
Source: talkingpointsmemo.com
A Chicago television news station made a truly unfortunate art choice to accompany a segment on the Jewish High Holidays on Wednesday: the yellow Star of David that Jews were legally required to wear during the Holocaust.
The stock photo was first flagged by a Chicago editor, who posted a screenshot of the WGN news broadcast online.
The station responded to apologize for the art choice about 30 minutes later, and said in a tweet the image was "inadvertently" used.
In a statement posted online, the station said the picture came from its image bank, and they "failed to recognize that the image was an offensive Nazi symbol."
"We are extremely embarrassed and we deeply apologize to our viewers and to the Jewish community for this mistake," the WGN statement said. "Ignorance is not an excuse."
The station was also taking apologies to its viewers out of the public sphere, with "J. Lyons, News Dir." directing individual users to direct message WGN's account.
European Jews were legally required to wear the yellow badge on their clothing beginning after Kristallnacht in November, 1938, but the anti-Semitic practice of forcing Jewish citizens to don an identifying badge dates back to the 13th century.
Source: talkingpointsmemo.com
