Following outcry, Zara parent company removes product worldwide, while Zara Israel apologizes and says the shirts will be ‘exterminated.’
It’s a SHERIFF shirt for your three-year-old. Obviously. What else could it be?
I mean, here, take a better look:
It even says Sheriff in (transparent, cutout) letters across the star.
Why, what else does it remind you of?
The shirt is produced in Turkey and appears to be available in Zara’s Israeli, French, Albanian and Swedish online stores. I’ve reached out to Zara and will update this post with the company’s reply.
Update 1pm IDT: Zara parent company Inditex told +972 the shirt was inspired by Classical Western films and that it is no longer available. The Israeli chapter of the company apologized more profusely, adding that it was decided to remove the offensive product from the shelves – and “exterminate” it.
We kid you not.
[Correction - an earlier version of this post stated the shirt was only available in Israel.]
Related:
Zara apologizes, says yellow star shirts will be ‘exterminated’
Urban Outfitters’ yellow tee causes causes stir over Holocaust association
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Jacky patchick
I find this product both sick and offensive – no surprises though that it was manufactured in turkey!!!
Alex
Designed for ZARA and given the go-ahead by their international marketing staff, only manufactured in Turkey.
Lucas
After posting on the Zara facebook’s page this morning the following text:
“This is offensive in so many ways! Let’s hope next time we see anyone wearing a striped shirt and a yellow star is ONLY on a holocaust movie.
But no… let’s make it “fun” and call it “sheriff”.”
I got a reply from Zara:
“Dear Lucas, we would like to thank you for transmitting us your concerns.
The mentioned T-shirt is no longer on sale in our stores. We honestly apologize, as the design of the T-shirt was only inspired by the sheriff’s stars from the Classic Western films, as the claim of the t-shirt says. Again, please accept our most sincere apologies.”
It seems it was available worldwide, since I’ve seen posts from people in different countries.
gabymarriott@gmail.com
What a disgrace. Do you not know that this looks like a shirt from the Holocaust. The boy in striped pyjamas. You should do your research before you sell inappropriate clothing.
Oran
Are we seeing a pattern here?
Zara had to recall Swastika on bags a couple of years ago.
Would really like to know who the designer is.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-482476/Zara-bosses-forced-withdraw-Swastika-handbags-shelves.html
Stas
The Swastika has carried a positive meaning for centuries, and is still a popular symbol of protection and prosperity in Asia. It originated in the East and is a symbol of good, the word itself derives from Sanskrit and means to do good. Yes, it had been used by Hilter to symbolize the Aryan race, but it doesn’t mean that putting in on a bag makes Zara anti-Semitic.
ira
The nazi m”s swastika is a geometrical inversion of the Indian one. Take a close look.
Piotr Berman
I guess a better product would be “Fifth Columnist” T-shirt with velcro patch and a little set of attachments for various religions and ideologies, Magen David Star, Crescent, Red Army Star, Hezbollah pair of black Kalashnikovs etc. Better yet, children could color their stars and other symbols themselves using markers.
Yank abroad
Maybe ship Palestine as they are undergoing a holocaust caused by the Israelis..
daryl
holocaust!!! why don’t you look it up, you ignoramus, you throw around stupid comments and expect not to be called out? learn a little before you speak, maybe brush up on your history, the world is a more dangerous place with you in it, please go away.
Steve
I have already bought 2 of them and gave them to my grandchildren. Should I send them back ?
stevi
Obviously you do not have an educated person in the approval process. Even though you design clothing History 101 would have been a good class to take. For the more advanced try World History and Worlds Great Religions. Or use only plain black. It is offensive which makes your entire company offensive.
Christine Roddy
Disagree with attempt to sell Holocaust shirts for children.
That’s no sheriff shirt!!!
Yeshe Zhonnu
I have to ask myself, “What parent would ever want to buy pajamas that resemble holocaust uniforms?” I mean, if someone is anti-Semitic why would they want to clothe their own child in a uniform worn in concentration camps? Also, what designer ever thought he/she would get away with this?
Lauren
Did anyone notice this company is also owned by an Israeli company? Sounds like Zionists trying to wag Hitler again for sympathy while they slaughter the pals.
lorna greenberg
what planet do you come from??
Israel and Jews have been for centuries (including 6 million exterminated Jews in World War 11) on a defensive course embattled by the Arab countries, Hamas and other beloved Muslin extremist Islamicgroups;
I denote a element of Anti Semetic response from you, darling Lauren.
Could I be wrong wagging my finter at you??
Dasi
I am sure it is an honest mistake, we all know nazis have no style ,they will never think of putting the stripe horizontal !!!
John
For your education: The shirts in concentration camps had vertical, much broader stripes and never had yellow stars on it, just triangles in different colours.
ariel
WTF ????? Are you kidding???
Stop this sale at once or ealse we will not enter ZARA shops again !!!
AARON MOORE
CRY ME A F RIVER, ITS JUST A SHIRT.
lorna greenberg
Are you really for real?
Do you have any knowledge of the horrors and extermination of millions of Jews, Catholics, Children, Gypsies and Politcal Dissenters during World War 11?
Get a life by being intelligent and sensitive!!
By the way, where were you educated and how many years did you attend schools and read books or newspapers??
Bob
Do I now have to wear my SHERIFF STRAR on the right side of my shirt???
daryl
AARON, it’s just a shirt? Do you have any family that was gassed in the holocaust? I think to MILLIONS it’s just more than a shirt, brush up on your history before you open your pie hole, you are embarrassing your family.
noHate
Ok, So you wouldn’t mind that you and yours wear this to be easily identified when mass executions need to happen, right? It’s just blatantly disrespectful. But you wouldn’t know the connotations. Why? You’re probably a white privileged person (I’ll also assume a man) who has never had to experience racism, sexism, antisemitism. Because if you have, you would be crying a river.
Kallia
Bad taste! What next? Tatooed numbers on the sleeve?
Mollie Levy
Am I writing this to Zara? How disgusting. Boycott! Boycott! Boycott!
Harriet
What else could it be?
It looks exactly like the Nazi, concentration camp shirts!!!!!!
Marc
Maybe, just maybe, the designer though that a striped shirt (commonly worn by children) would look good with a yellow star. Maybe the designer didn’t trawl through the history books to see if that was offensive in any way (or could be construed as such).
As for the comment of an Israeli Zara employee, maybe that was a slip of their English, not their first language?
Or, it’s a huge conspiracy by a lesser known clothing brand and then whipped up into this article for shock effect?
Hard to say…
Daryl
Marc, re you for real? they knew what they were doing, NOBODY says “we’ll them off the shelf and exterminate them”… after being accused of putting up a shirt that looks like the one’s used in the holocaust.. HELLO??? I don’t know who is dumber and more dangerous, them for trying to get away with it, or YOU for believing it could be a mistake of some kind.
Piotr Berman
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/sheriff-badge-5371551.jpg
Obviously, the intention was to have a “sheriff star” on the shirt. Somewhere in the design process they settled on 6-pronged star, although they could use 5 or 7, and they did skipped embroidery, so people involved were in part ignorant, and in part, not paying attention. And of course, they were skipping costs.
daryl
Piotr, Obviously you aren’t paying attention, after the comment they made, “we’ll take them off the shelf and exterminate them” after knowing they were being accused of selling a holocaust shirt, there was no intent for it to look like a sheriff star no design has stripes for a sheriff??? why not the word sheriff across the star? there was no part of this that they were not “paying attention” as you put it, they knew darn well what they were doing, it was cold and calculated.
Piotr Berman
…. Obviously you aren’t paying attention … why not the word sheriff across the star?
Well, you could pay attention to this part of the article: “It even says Sheriff in (transparent, cutout) letters across the star.”
You have to magnify the picture to see the letters. But there are there!
Susan
Zara should be ashamed of themselves!! It’s bad enough thousands of Jews and non Jews were killed in Camps. Bad taste Zara!! Shame on your company!!!